EDITING TLC

Reviews Pg. 3: MWSA

(Military Writers Society of America)

Twisted Tongues is a book of Native American historical poetry written by Ruth Naphas Gerhardt and Jim Greenwald. The poetry is sincere with the authors opening their hearts to show how history has been misrepresented and mis-portrayed.  Both authors are sharing the truth about a part of history that didn’t appear in my history books and I wonder about yours.

Having lived in Wisconsin all of my life, you might think that I would know many Native Americans, but I really don’t. There was a five year part of my life that I did, however, share with three beautiful Winnebago Indian children. They were a sibling group that happened to be in our county system as foster children.  I had the honor and pleasure of being a foster mom to these kids and fell deeply in love with them. 

Authors Greenwald and Gerhardt share that there are many stereotypes about Native Americans.  My group of three children came to us because their mom was dealing with alcoholism. Their father was not a part of their life.  After five years with these children (ages 12, 14, and 16), my husband and I checked into the possibility of adopting the sibling trio.  The tribe would not hear of it because they “didn’t want their children assimilated into ‘White culture.’”  When the children were all teenagers, an aunt from out-of-state came into the picture and received custody of the children, after telling lies to the foster care system, and we ended up in court to defend our reputations, which was majorly important considering I am a school teacher, and the false accusations could have lost me my license and the future adoptions of five children. It cost us a lot of money to work through that whole process, but none of that matters to me anymore.  What matters is that I “lost” my three children, and it was worse than experiencing a death, because I didn’t even get a good-bye. 

The ONLY thing that pulled me through the loss was that our first baby (through adoption) came into our life and every time I went to the threshold of his nursery door, I said this prayer: “Dear Lord, please don’t let my pain affect my baby. Don’t let my hurt transfer to my little boy.  Help me, Father, to regain my strength and move on from this.”  After a year with this aunt, the oldest child contacted me, very unhappy because she felt her aunt had taken them in order to get their “Indian money.”  This whole situation absolutely broke my heart.  I felt like a number of the stereotypic comments about Native Americans were being “proved” to me. 

So I have lived with a broken heart due to “my children” being taken and communication cut off forever.  I can’t say that I’ve been living with resentment within myself, but I have lived with not understanding the reasons the tribe had for their decisions.  Somewhere within me I buried the pain.  I didn’t have the history that has been shared in Twisted Tongues to help me on this journey in life.

When offered the chance to read Twisted Tongues I had no clue the impact that it would have on my heart and my thinking.  I didn’t even have a clue that it dealt with Native American history.  The authors had no clue that I had any experience with loving three Native American children.   I believe that the connection was meant to be, and fourteen years after this painful time in my life, Twisted Tongues has begun to heal the hurts that have been buried deep within me.

Why do I share all of this?  Because Twisted Tongues has revealed Native American history to me.  Authors Greenwald and Gerhardt have written beautiful poetry to explain history and no condemnation comes through it.  I now understand that the birth parents of my three Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indian children could have had to deal with unbearable hardships.  Who knows what their parents and grandparents faced? Who knows what they themselves faced?  I now totally understand why the tribe wouldn’t want their children “assimilated” in the “White world.”  Read the poem “Suffer the Little Children” to see what happened to approximately 12,000 Indian children. 

Have you heard the expression “Walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins”? Well, Twisted Tongues certainly will get you out of your shoes and into a pair of moccasins.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book.  I hope that others will receive a blessing from reading it, because of the understanding it brings about Native American history.  Thank you, Jim Greenwald and Ruth Naphas Gerhardt, for pouring your hearts into this project.  Thank you for working at enlightening people and doing it in such a way that we can learn and hopefully it will make a difference in our thinking and our lives.

The Sandpiper's Game by Charles Boyle

Charles Boyle has shared some of his wisdom through his children’s book The Sandpiper’s Game.  In the story, the twins, Kurt and Kate, live by the ocean and use the beach as the place where they practice running to help them in their goal of getting faster because they are part of their school’s cross-country team. Their coach tells them that running in the sand will make them stronger and faster.

 The problem that the children encounter is that the beach doesn’t give them the same terrain that they have to run in when they go inland to the hills of cross-country events.  During their practice sessions, they meet up with an injured sandpiper, which then teaches the children about doing their “personal best.”

My “review audience” of third graders thoroughly enjoyed this book, and have easily grasped onto the concept of doing their personal best. It is a fun read and the bonus is that it teaches a needed concept to our children.  Mr. Boyle has done a wonderful job with this book.  Too many children are competitive to a fault, without looking at themselves and how they can improve on their own goals to do their personal best.  This is a thought-provoking book and one that children enjoy. 



Alma H. Bond, in her book Jackie O: On the Couch takes readers right into the mind and life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Dr. Bond practiced as a psychoanalyst for thirty-seven years, which may be why she was able to “speak as” Jackie O in this book. However, I believe that it is due to the amount of research that Dr. Bond accomplished in reading one hundred books about Jackie.  Dr. Bond’s admiration of Jackie is evident and combining that with her knowledge of Jackie’s life, it has enabled her to share much insight about this famous, but private woman.

For those of us who have struggled in the history department, Jackie O is perfect. I learned so much by reading this book, even though it is a book of fiction, being based on so many facts certainly brings out a lot about the times during Jackie’s life. I’ve always enjoyed reading biographies, even way back in elementary school, but the fact that this book is written in first person, makes it so unique, and easy to read. I felt as if I was right there sharing conversations with Jackie.  

As the reader, not being the expert about Jackie, I can’t distinguish between the fact and fiction. One author friend of mine shared the term “factition” with me, letting me know that all fiction is based on some facts. I didn’t feel it was my job to determine the facts in this book, but to enjoy the story, and get a great feel for all that Jackie O experienced throughout her life. She was an amazing woman, who faced many challenges, and Dr. Bond has done a superb job of telling her story. Anyone interested in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis should be sure to add this book to his/her reading list.

Lawrence J. Enders had done a wonderful job of writing his story in Surviving Serendipity.  His goal in life was to be a stable, hometown physician.  He ended up being drafted and serving in the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon for twenty-three years.  He retired as a colonel and accomplished being a doctor, pilot, medical administrator, and military officer. He shares many “serendipitous” events, which lead to interactions with astronauts, Russian spies, Hollywood stars, an acquitted multiple murderer, the John F. Kennedy family, a Nazi war-crimes scientist, etc. Dr. Enders served in seventy-five missions in Southeast Asia. He has lived quite the life!

Many of Dr. Ender’s experiences do seem unreal, and family members and friends encouraged him to write his book, for that very reason.  In one year, Enders was selected by NASA on loan from the Air Force, was involved with a daring sea rescue, and helped with the delivery of Jacqueline Kennedy’s baby. And that was just one year of his life. More than once he heard the words, “Have I got a deal for you!” 

I would like to share a quote from Lawrence Enders from the end of his book: “We may not be able to choose the parents to whom we are born, or indeed, where we are born. We may not be able to choose how or when we will die. But we can all choose how we live!” Webster’s defines “serendipity” as “an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally.”  Read about many serendipitous happenings in the life of Lawrence Enders in Surviving Serendipity.

In My Friends & Heroes, Allen F. Hooker has put his heart and soul into sharing many stories from veteran friends and heroes. This book is a compilation of stories written from interviews of many veterans, organized around war actions and other themes such as medics, accidents, conversations with God, and overcoming adversity. Mr. Hooker put a lot of thought and time into creating this well-written compilation of stories that might have been lost without his efforts. He has done a fine job of recording what he calls “living history” while these precious veterans are still here for us to learn their stories. He encourages each and every one of us with this suggestion: “If you see someone with a hat, showing a military patch, or in uniform, ask them about it! Start a conversation with them. A history lesson may follow that will keep you spellbound.” Thank you, Mr. Hooker, for your dedication to this project, and for sharing it with us. 

Loose Ends Kill by Bob Doerr is the third Jim West Mystery Thriller, and even though I haven’t read the first two in the series, Mr. Doerr was able to pull me right into the story via the one page prologue. Author Doerr takes you along on this mystery thriller by getting you into the head of the main character, and seeing that he seems to be creating havoc, of sorts, while trying to investigate the murder of an old friend’s wife.  Readers will find themselves with a page-turner wanting to find out just “who done it.” I look forward to reading other books in this Jim West series. 

Noting all of the reviews I’ve written over the last few years, this is not one that most would imagine would be on my reading list. My affiliation with Military Writers Society of America brought Breastfeeding in Combat Boots to my attention. I had the honor to meet the author, Robyn Roche-Paull, at the recent MWSA Conference in Pittsburgh. Upon review of this book, I concluded that it is one of the best-researched books I have ever read. My other thought about this book is that it is an excellent resource for ANY woman who is considering breastfeeding her child, whether they are serving in the military or not.  So if you know anyone with questions regarding this issue, you can be assured that the answer will lie within the pages of this book. Robyn Roche-Paull knows her stuff! When folks read the title Breastfeeding in Combat Boots you will often hear a chuckle, but this book is no laughing matter. It is everything anyone would ever need to know regarding the topic of breastfeeding.