A must read for anyone whose child is diagnosed with cancer

When your healthy, active child is diagnosed with cancer, what’s your first reaction? If you’re like most most people, you panic. That was Sheila Taylor’s first reaction when her bright, athletic, dreams-of-being-a-pilot youngest son saw a doctor for a nagging pain in his knee and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. He could lose his leg and he could die. What would happen to  his dream of being a pilot? What lies ahead for his parents and his two older brothers? How will the family handle it, especially since the treatment is in England and his parents live in Zambia?

In her book, Sheila Taylor takes you with her and her family as her youngest sons is diagnosed,  undergoes a series of chemotherapy treatments, has surgery on the infected leg, has more chemotherapy and keeps his leg and learns to walk again. But will he ever fly an airplane? Amazingly, yes.

If your child has been diagnosed with cancer, or you know someone whose child has, this is a book to recommend to them, or give to them as a gift. It’s not an easy journey, and Sheila Taylor doesn’t try to make it so. It’s a testament to her son’s never-give-up spirit, the skilled physicians who treated him, and a family who loves and fights for him.

A 5 star read.

Grandfather and the Raven and The Old Man and the Monkey for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is a time of remembrance, celebration and giving thanks. What is there that you can celebrate and give thanks for? A person? A word? A wink? A smile? A tiny winter flower? Or were you at the right place and time when the sun set behind nearby mountains as a big golden moon rose over the river? Whatever it is, celebrate it and be thankful for its being there. Then give the gift of thanks to someone else. It doesn't have to be big, it just has to be given with kindness and grace.

I am a nut when it comes to books, especially ones that make me think, laugh, cry (sometimes at the same time), feel warm, puzzle over and return to. The Old Man and the Monkey and Grandfather and the Raven are two such books. I go back to them again and again to enjoy the warm and gentle humor between the two grandfathers and their wives … the goofy quarrels  grandfather and the raven have over the silliest things (according to grandmother) … the old monkey’s quiet grace … and the little girl who is convinced that he is really a hairy little old man and not a monkey at all, especially when, hearing her say that to her mother, he turns toward her and gives her a wink.

Grandfather and the Raven and The Old Man and the Monkey are the kind of books I enjoy receiving and giving as gifts. To sample them, go to the BookBuzzr widget on the right side of your screen, click “Read Free Sample”, and read. If you like what you read, click the “Buy Now” button and order one or more copies, one for yourself plus copies for friends and family this Holiday Season. You'll enjoy the books, and they will thank you for giving them a gift they will enjoy again and again throughout the years.

Be sure and pick up a copy before you leave … and give a copy to a friend.

Best wishes for your Holiday Season,

George Polley

Paperback Publication Event from Night Publishing

Night Publishing (UK) has just released a quality paperback edition of George Polley’s popular story about the friendship between an elderly man and a large monkey.

Here is what readers are saying about the story:

Author Tim le Roux: "It is stunningly beautiful, one of the most amazing and moving pieces I have ever read." Tim le Roux is the author of Dance of the Pheasodile, Fishing for Christians, Missio, and other titles.

Author Stella Evelyne Tesha: "Reflects the rare values of unconditional friendship; love, trust, respect, loyalty and dependability. It also shows that being humane can bridge the differences between cultures or in this case, species." Stella Tesha is author of Love As Flowers and Journey Into Life

Artist Jean Sullivan, Seattle: "The Old Man and the Monkey is what good writing is all about: it makes you look within to find the best that you can be.”

To purchase your copy of the book, click on https://www.createspace.com/3439344

Then sit down and enjoy a great story. And be sure to recommend it to your friends and acquaintances.

All for this post,

Toasty

Good books and old friends

Some books are like old friends. I love getting together with them, settling down with a cup of tea, or just settling down and getting into them. These books make me smile, warm my heart and leave me satisfied and anticipating the next time we can get together.

I have two books to recommend this winter Holiday season that are like old friends. I know because that’s what readers say about them. They are The Old Man and the Monkey and Grandfather and the Raven. Read about them below, then pick up a copy or two from Abbott ePublishing at http://www.abbottepub.com. The Old Man and the Monkey is listed on their “Fiction” page. If you own a Kindle, the books are Kindle-ready and downloadable to your machine.

Here’s what readers are saying about these two warm-hearted books:

The Old Man and the Monkey:

"I was immediately drawn to it. Wow! Nothing short of monkey magic.” –Thom Rutledge, author, Nashville

"Makes you look within to find the best that you can be. I love this story. It gets better every time I read it.” –Jean S., Seattle

“Reflects the rare values of unconditional friendship; love, trust, respect, loyalty and dependability.” –Stella T., Rotterdam

Makes you “feel you’re with” the old man and the monkey.”  –Aneeta S., Kuala Lumpur

Wakens you “to the wonder of life and death and friendship.” –Wendy M., Quebec

Grandfather and the Raven:

“A delightful collection of life fables that warms you all the way down, leaving you looking forward to another reading in the future.” –Jean S., Seattle

“Full of wisdom and simply a pleasure to read! A book that rejuvenated me.” –Meam W., Karachi

“Suffused with a gentle knowingness and humour, accompanied by a sharp disapproval of unprovoked violence.” –Tim Roux, author, Belgium

“Like that piece of chocolate that you have with your afternoon cup of coffee... short, sweet, and leaving you wanting another piece.” –Shawn C., author, Sapporo

The raven “speaks in a mysterious voice, which some people can understand, and others hear only as a noise. These stories are fun, and would be fun to read to a child sitting in a loving lap.” –Wendy M., Quebec

Be sure to pick up your copy at http://www.abbottepub.com. You’ll find The Old Man and the Monkey listed on their “fiction” page. Then settle down with a cup of hot chocolate, tea or coffee, pick up the books or turn on your Kindle and enjoy a wonderful experience. You’ll be glad you did.

Happy Holidays and happy reading,

Jorge (“Toasty”) Tostada

(Who’s that George Polley fellow? It’s me, writing under my author name, the one my parents gave me when I was born.)

 

Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009, Hero

In a time where politics is fraught with name-calling, paranoia and insult, Senator Kennedy was a man of graciousness and a passionate advocate for the causes and people he believed in. His accomplishments were legion:

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965.

• The Freedom of Information Act.

• The Occupational Safety and Health Act.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act.

• The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009.

• Fought a four-decade crusade for universal health coverage.

• Helped Soviet dissidents.

• Fought apartheid.

• Was one of 23 senators to vote against the Iraq war.

• Vastly expanded the network of neighborhood clinics.

• Virtually invented the COBRA system for portable insurance.

• Helped create the law that provide Medicare prescriptions.

• Helped create the Family Leave law.

What kind of man was he? Admittedly, neither a man without faults nor a self-righteous man who called names. In the words of Vice President Joe Biden, who worked in the Senate with him for 46 years, Senator Kennedy “never was petty; never was small. It was never about him, it was always about you.” He reached out to others, had a heart for others. When Mr. Biden’s first wife was killed in a terrible auto accident that injured their two children, Senator Kennedy was on the phone with him immediately, offering support.

What did Rush Limbaugh say about him? No surprise. If Kennedy was the Lion of the Senate, "We were his prey." No surprise there. I have two questions for Mr. Limbaugh: Does this mean that you oppose all of those things that Kennedy fought for that have benefited so many of your fellow citizens? Or do you simply not care?

“Today we have lost a great spirit,” Vice President Biden said. And so we have.

In a recent post, political cartoonist and blogger David Horsey wrote the following: “Teddy Kennedy is gone and we may not see his like again. But a greater tragedy for the nation would be if the politics of mutual respect, wise compromise and willingness to find common ground died with him.” So it would, David, so it would.

“If by a liberal,”, Senator Kennedy wrote, “they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; if that is what they mean by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal.” —Edward M. Kennedy

And so am I.

All for this post,

Toasty