Day: September 8, 2021

Book review: ‘The Girl in the Red Boots’ by Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD

‘The Girl in the Red Boots’ is the new book by Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD. Photo: amazon

Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD is a clinician, author, writing coach, speaker, and workshop leader. In addition to her New York City private psychotherapy practice, she offers remote consultations for writers, clinicians, and families. She has published dozens of articles for both the public and professionals and has authored two books, “A Starving Madness: Tales of Hunger, Hope and Healing” (Gurze Books, 2002) and “Befriending Your Ex After Divorce: Making Life Better for You, Your Ex and Yes, Your Ex!” (New Harbinger Publications, 2012). A sought-after speaker and workshop leader, Judy speaks at national and international mental health conferences and runs workshops at spas, colleges and universities, and retreat centers such as the Esalon Institute, California. Her new book “The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother” weaves together tales from Rabinor’s psychotherapy practice and her life to help readers appreciate how painful childhood experiences can linger and leave emotional scars.

“The Girl in the Red Boots” begins with a Prologue where the author writes that one lesson she has learned from over forty years of specializing in mother-daughter relationships is that stories are excellent teachers. She hopes “the tales from my office and my life may help you untangle your stuck places and develop compassion for yourself and, possibly, for your mother.” While leading a seminar exploring the importance of the mother-daughter relationship, she is blindsided by a memory of a childhood trauma. As an eight year old girl, her mother tricked her by telling her that she was going to a birthday party but instead she ended up in the hospital having her tonsils removed. When she realizes that this trauma has haunted her for most of her life, she sets out to heal herself. She shares her personal journey from becoming a therapist with her own issues to eventually making peace with her mother and herself as well as stories from her psychotherapy practice. The book is divided into eight parts: Part One: Welcome to Womanhood, Part Two: The Secret, Part Three: Becoming a Therapist, Part Four: Love, Marriage, and Divorce, Part Five: Mother-Daughter Complications, Part Six: Making Peace, Part Seven: When “When” is Now, and Part Eight: Retelling Our Stories. Each chapter begins with an active imagination/guided-imagery exercise that introduces the topic and lays the ground work for the work to be done. At the end of the book, these exercises are listed together in an appendix to make them easier to access.

Therapists are usually taught not to talk about their own issues with their patients, but Judith Rabinor often shared her experiences with them in the hopes that by doing so, they might find common ground. This might seem unconventional to some, but it does help people realize that their troubles are more common than they think. In this case, she worked with mother-daughter clients and by helping them deal with their problems, she found that it is never too late to let go of her own trauma, hurt, and disappointments and learn compassion for her own mother. For readers, this memoir hits home because we all have disputes with our mothers and no mother-daughter relationship is perfect. It is not a ‘how to’ manual, but rather a series of life lessons the author learned the hard way. Her reflections are poetic sometimes: ‘A low-flying airplane flashed by, illuminating a grove of leafless maples trees swaying in the wind.’ Sometimes the flashbacks disrupt the time line, but for the most part, the narration is easy to follow, in part because she does not use complicated language or psychology terms. It is no wonder her clients trust her. “The Girl in the Red Boots” is a must-read poignant memoir about one woman’s journey from troubled little girl to an adult who learns to see her mother as a flawed but compassionate woman. It is recommended for readers who enjoy memoirs that entertain and help them grow as individuals.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Harlingen Public Library’s Hispanic Heritage Virtual Art Show

Submission deadline is Monday, September 13, 2021. Photo: Harlingen Public Library, used with permission.

Calling all local artists: The Harlingen Public Library is kicking off this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month with a virtual art show and all ages are welcome to participate. The deadline to submit artwork for the Virtual Hispanic Heritage Art Show is Monday September 13, 2021 by 8p.m. (Harlingen Public Library, 2021)

To participate, email a photo of your work and responses to the entry form. The library website and social media will display the Virtual Hispanic Heritage Art Show in a digital presentation on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 10a.m. Questions: email the Harlingen Public Library. 

Guidelines:

• Photo should be high resolution, at least 1000 x 1000 pixels
• Pieces should be suitable for a family show
• Any medium is acceptable
• One piece of art will be displayed per participant
• All participants will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win new art supplies

New book release: ‘Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo’ by Sandra Cisneros

‘Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo’ is the new novel by Sandra Cisneros. Photo: amazon

Poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist and artist, Sandra Cisneros is the author of “Bad Boys,” “My Wicked Wicked Ways,” “Loose Woman,” “Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories,” “The House on Mango Street,” “Caramelo,” “Have You Seen Marie?” “Vintage Cisneros”—a compilation of her works— and “Bravo, Bruno.” Her most recent books are “A House of My Own: Stories from My Life,” which is illustrated with photographs, and “Puro Amor” in a dual-language edition translated by Liliana Valenzuela and featuring illustrations by the author. In her new book “Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo: A Story in English and Spanish,” a long-forgotten letter sets off a charged encounter with the past. (amazon, 2021)

“Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo” – As a young woman, Corina leaves her Mexican family in Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming a writer in the cafés of Paris. Instead, she spends her brief time in the City of Light running out of money and lining up with other immigrants to call home from a broken pay phone. But the months of befriending panhandling artists in the métro, sleeping on crowded floors, and dancing the tango at underground parties are given a lasting glow by her intense friendships with Martita and Paola. Over the years the three women disperse to three continents, falling out of touch and out of mind—until a rediscovered letter brings Corina’s days in Paris back with breathtaking immediacy. “Martita, I Remember You” is a rare bottle from Sandra Cisneros’s own special reserve, preserving the smoke and the sparkle of an exceptional year. Told with intimacy and searing tenderness, this tribute to the life-changing power of youthful friendship is Cisneros at her vintage best, in a beautiful dual-language edition.

New book release: ‘These Toxic Things’ by Rachel Howzell Hall

‘These Toxic Things’ is the new thriller by Rachel Howzell Hall. Photo: amazon

Rachel Howzell Hall is the author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize– and Lefty Award–nominated “And Now She’s Gone;” and the Anthony Award–, Lefty Award–, and International Thriller Writers Award–nominated “They All Fall Down.” She also writes the acclaimed Detective Elouise Norton series, including “Land of Shadows,” “Skies of Ash,” “Trail of Echoes,” and “City of Saviors.” Rachel is also the coauthor of “The Good Sister” with James Patterson, which was included in the New York Times bestseller The Family Lawyer.” She lives in Los Angeles. In her new book “These Toxic Things: A Thriller,” a dead woman’s cherished trinkets become pieces to a terrifying puzzle. (amazon, 2021)

“These Toxic Things” – Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks” for clients, ensuring that precious souvenirs are not forgotten or lost. When her latest client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner, dies from an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the old woman’s last wish and begins curating her peculiar objets d’art. A music box, a hair clip, a key chain―twelve mementos in all that must have meant so much to Nadia, who collected them on her flea market scavenges across the country. But these tokens mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie has been receiving threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone. It is becoming a mystery Mickie is driven to solve. Who once owned these odd treasures? How did Nadia really come to possess them? Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer and navigating the secrets of a sinister past. One that might, Mickie fears, be inescapably entwined with her own.

https://youtu.be/GMne4LiIGas