Thursday 31 May 2012

Letter to God about Lorna Dueck and The Globe & Mail



Oped from Wednesday May 30th Globe and Mail



Dear God

Please forgive our sister, Lorna Dueck, for the hateful assumption implicit in her article, "Liberia proves the power of prayer," published in yesterday’s Globe and Mail.

God, I am sure you were as moved by the first person who prayed to You for help in that first moment of pain committed by that dreadful warlord, Charles Taylor, as you were by the many women who worked together and sent out prayers in Monrovia after this depraved man and his henchman had murdered tens of thousands. It shatters me to think a woman who professes to believe in A Loving God could believe Your help was based on some kind of numbers game, a sort of celestial version of “Who Gets to Be the Fulfilled Petitioner?”

I prefer to believe, if I can believe in You at all, that You were simply unable to act to prevent pain, suffering, and loss. A God of Lost Powers suits me better than a God who could ignore the suffering of millions and millions in favour of granting the prayers of “broken, war-weary women [who] received divine strength as they gathered in Monrovia’s fish market in 2002 to pray for peace. They dressed in emulation of the Hebrew Bible’s Queen Esther, who mourned as she prayed God would save her people’s lives.”

Dear God, in my synagogue, many of us don’t even believe the story of Queen Esther—not to mention every supernatural event related in The Five Books of Moses--could possibly have happened. But I digress.

Help me, Oh Lord, to overlook the appalling ignorance and the “blame-the-victim” mentality implicit in the theology of people like Lorna Dueck. And help me to remember that such disgraceful sanctimony doesn’t only exist among people who consider themselves good Christians: for example, I’ve been told that there are streams among Orthodox Judaism who blame the Holocaust on the failure of all Jews to follow the 613 mitzvot.

Above all, God, please help me to remember that even in the face of my own powerlessness—of Your powerlessness—to try to choose to do only good, to be compassionate to all my fellow humans, and to erase my hideous and ongoing judgmentalness, as this prayer makes obvious.

Amen.

PS Oh and please give my best to Hitch and tell him we miss him still.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Fighting over first-world problems


Photograph by: Dario Ayala , Montreal Gazette



We may have crappier weather here, but Quebec’s social climate should be the envy of the rest of Canada, what with free college education, more generous and flexible maternity leave, paternity leave, $7-per-day daycare, pharmacare, and so on.

Unfortunately, the problem with generous social programs is they’re never quite generous enough.
A while back I read a piece by a frustrated Quebec mother, home alone (i.e. without her children) in the final months of maternity leave. She’d been lucky enough to snag a spot for her second child at the same daycare her oldest attended. They had room for her children in September, but her maternity leave didn’t end until January. The daycare wouldn’t hold the spots for her, nor would it allow her to pay from September and only start using them in January. (Long waiting lists, you know.) She wanted to care for her children at home while she was off work , but was “forced” to put them in full-time care several months early. This woman was mighty steamed.

First-world problems.

Twenty-five years ago, I returned to work after a 16-week maternity leave. My son had only been sleeping through the night for three weeks. A departmental secretary told me that a generation earlier, she’d been forced to quit her job as soon as she “showed.” She didn’t begrudge me my 16-week mat leave; she just wanted me to know, as I was complaining, that I was forgetting how good I had it.
Quebec’s first-world problems keep on coming.

Take our student strike. After the usual endless prodding and consultation, the provincial government declared a 75-per-cent increase in university tuition over five years, to bring the students’ costs to 1968 levels when adjusted for inflation. Today’s average annual tuition is $2,168; in five years it will be $3,793.

Less than $2,200. That’s what it costs right now to go to university chez nous. Even at McGill.
Unfortunately, the proposed increase – $325 annually – was too much for some Quebec students. So they’ve been “on strike” for more than 100 days.

First-world problems.

The student movement had clearly jumped the shark by April 24, when a visiting candidate for president of Concordia University was shouted down by “striking” students there. The totalitarian underpinnings of the striking, protesting minority – shouting down dissent, refusing secret-ballot voting, smashing windows and cars, disobeying legal injunctions to let classes resume, disrupting classes and intimidating those in attendance, demonstrating in front of the premier’s home, rioting, and allegedly setting off smoke bombs on the métro system – were made as plain as the noses the students were cutting off to spite themselves.

Some of the manifs have seen an estimated 250,000 people hit the streets. Some students may not graduate. Dispirited others have dropped out. Another recent casualty was the 14-year career of Education Minister Line Beauchamp and her “good cop” strategy – to spread the pain over seven years, and to set up committees (including students) to search for savings at universities that’d be passed along to students (an administrative nightmare). The strikers are supported and encouraged by opposition politicians, organized labour, entertainers and professors, all wearing the movement’s red-square symbol.

The latest government salvo is Bill 78, “An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the post-secondary institutions they attend.” Imagine having to pass such a law! It requires 8 hours’ notice and the route of demonstrations, and includes large penalties for student unions or organizations that prevent others from attending classes. The usual suspects call it the worst attack on civil liberties since the War Measures Act.

Spring has gloriously sprung in Montreal. But despite the good weather, Quebec is still slogging through the winter of its discontent. The Charbonneau Commission hearings into allegations of corruption in the construction industry are under way, another ring in the circus that defines public life here. But our beloved festival season – Festival TransAmériques, the Circus Arts Festival, the Francofolies, the jazz fest, Nuits d’Afrique, Just for Laughs, film festivals, etc. – beckons. Ah, summer in Montreal: could anything be finer?

It’s enough to convince anyone of the truth in the immortal words of Louis C.K.: “Everything’s amazing. And nobody’s happy.”

Beverly Akerman is a Montreal writer. 
Her debut collection of short fiction, The Meaning of Children, is available at Amazon.com.

Originally published May 28th, 2012, in The Montreal Gazette.


Sunday 27 May 2012

Post Amazon FREEBIE Gratitude and Thanks...


Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to download 'The Meaning of Children.' The book peaked at #15 on the free list for literary fiction, which I think is fantastic! 
Of course, it’s still available for purchase at http://amzn.to/KznFvA . And it's always FREE for Amazon Prime members!
Hope you enjoy the read; please message me at Facebook or comment here if you'd like, or send me post any thoughts on my book page: http://www.facebook.com/TheMeaningofChildren
 
Always looking for 'likes' there or on Amazon (and reviews would be much appreciated, too). Currently, 45 likes and 6 reviews (mean of 4.7 stars), and they are really very lovely reviews!

I'm very grateful for many things today: a peaceful country, good friends, the chance to do fail better soon. Hope you're doing well, too. TTFN, Bev
 

Friday 25 May 2012

‘THE MEANING OF CHILDREN’ E-BOOK FREE on May 25th & 26th!

‘THE MEANING OF CHILDREN’ FREE to download on May 25th & 26th! 

PLEASE SHARE!


"A luminous talent." ~JoAnne Soper-Cook, author of 'Waterborne' and Judge, 2010 David Adams Richards Prize




If you don't have a Kindle, Amazon.com has free apps for phones, tablets, and computers

34 LIKES, 4.6/5 STARS (5 reviews) for 'The Meaning of Children'

Readers call 'THE MEANING OF CHILDREN': "captivating," "pitch perfect prose," “resonates with the sad truth of being a grownup,” “touching without being maudlin, a true literary feat.”

Some recent reviews:

"I can't stop thinking about this book. It's been over a week since I read this collection of short stories and the characters are still with me.

"These are stories about real people, real children, teenagers, adults, in real times. I went through a whole range of emotions when I read them, some good, some not so good. When the child was sitting on the stairs listening to her parents, I was right there with her. When the adult was sitting by the lake contemplating what happened years before and looking at her present day life, I was sitting across from her, doing the same thing. I can't remember a book, let alone a collection of short stories, where I could identify so heavily with the emotions and feelings of the characters.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is what good writing, and a good book, should do for you. Yes, it entertained for sure, but it made me think and remember.

"If you enjoy quality writing and a book that will make you think about where you've been and where you're going read The Meaning Of Children.

"Highly recommended." ~Martin Crosbie on Amazon.com (5 stars)

"Akerman takes you back to the time you were a child. No matter you did not grow up in Montreal or Jewish, the situations, conflicts, joys and fears are universal. Akerman grounds emotions with rich descriptions and a strong sense of place." ~twalker on Amazon.com (4 stars)

"Entering the world of 'The Meaning Of Children' is like wrapping myself in the blanket my grandmother knit for me.I can feel every word, hear every sound, and be taken to a familiar place in my soul. You are a brilliant woman with a great spirit whose writing will resonate with many. Thank you." ~Judith Litvack on Facebook


PLEASE VERIFY "$0.00" BEFORE HITTING "BUY" AT Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/KznFvA

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Thrilled with the new Kindle cover of 'The Meaning of Children'

Here it is, freshly minted, the new cover for the ebook version of The Meaning Of Children, available exclusively on Amazon.com

But that doesn't mean that if you don't have a Kindle, you can't get this FREE DOWNLOAD!

Because Amazon.com has FREE apps that let you read on your assorted doodads, from phones, tablets, to computers (though I'm afraid not on Nooks or Kobos, I don't believe). Find them here.

And, if you've managed to read this far, here's a bonus: early notice that The Meaning of Children will be FREE on Amazon.com this coming Friday and Saturday, May 25th and 26th. 

PLEASE VERIFY THE PRICE IS

"$0.00" 

BEFORE HITTING "BUY"!!










As always, The Meaning of Children  

is FREE to borrow 

from the Kindle Lending Library

for Amazon Prime members. 


Would love to know what you think of this 

collection of 14 award-winning short stories.


You can leave me a "thumbs up" or, better still, 

a REVIEW 

on TMOC's Amazon.com page 

 

(just click the link and sign in).



Here are the 5 amazing Amazon.com reviews the book has garnered so far, all 4- or 5-stars. A couple of dozen more are available elsewhere on my blog, as well as on the CBC-Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers' Choice Contest website.


"Akerman takes you back to the time you were a child. No matter you did not grow up in Montreal or Jewish, the situations, conflicts, joys and fears are universal. Akerman grounds emotions with rich descriptions and a strong sense of place." ~twalker, San Francisco


"I can't stop thinking about this book. It's been over a week since I read this collection of short stories and the characters are still with me.
 
"These are stories about real people, real children, teenagers, adults, in real times. I went through a whole range of emotions when I read them, some good, some not so good. When the child was sitting on the stairs listening to her parents, I was right there with her. When the adult was sitting by the lake contemplating what happened years before and looking at her present day life, I was sitting across from her, doing the same thing. I can't remember a book, let alone a collection of short stories, where I could identify so heavily with the emotions and feelings of the characters.
 
"As far as I'm concerned, this is what good writing, and a good book, should do for you. Yes, it entertained for sure, but it made me think and remember.

"If you enjoy quality writing and a book that will make you think about where you've been and where you're going read The Meaning Of Children. Highly recommended." ~ Martin Crosbie

 
"So many books, so little time... There are so many books on my bedside table waiting to be read that I rarely revisit a book for a second time. The Meaning of Children is an exception to that rule. On second reading, I find myself noticing different details, things I didn't see the first time around. Akerman has a deft ear for dialogue. Her characters sound true to life and true to age. And somehow stories seem to have morphed on second reading. The ending strikes me differently, or perhaps a character reminds me of someone different. It's always worth the journey." ~K.J. Lieber, Montreal

"A vision of yesteryear. Having grown up myself in the late 50's and 60's, this well-crafted book tells a revealing tale of hope and what the future may bring. Told from the chilling perspective of several children, the question becomes, can the soul of a child be healed? This book is gripping in its depiction of being trapped in a socially inept world of that time, only to wake up to realize that what's most important is that time is of the essence." ~ John R. 

"Great book! Amazing book. Well written. Interesting stories. Very reflective. The writing is excellent. I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone." ~Suzanne Boles, London ON

Thanks again to all the readers, "thumbs uppers" and reviewers!

Monday 14 May 2012

'The Meaning Of Children' an honourable mention for the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Awards

Very pleased to note that 'The Meaning Of Children' was a finalist and honourable mention for the 2012 Eric Hoffer Book Awards in the General Fiction category! 

 

Here is what the judges said about 'The Meaning Of Children':

 

'Akerman's thoughtful short story collection is elegantly written and offers subtle insights as they are interpreted and experienced through children. In "The Mysteries," a young girl's brief encounter with a stranger forces her to question the very nature of truth. "Broken" examines the intricacies of gender in terms of loyalty and identification. Akerman tackles more adult matters just as deftly–the inner turmoil stirred during a reluctant abortion, the personal anguish of questionable paternity, the devastation of losing a child—each story is nuanced and compelling, leaving its imprint long after the last page is turned.' 


About the Eric Hoffer Awards for Independent Books:

"Each year, independent publishers (academic, independent, small press, and self-published authors) release extraordinary books to little or no recognition. The Eric Hoffer Award for independent books recognizes excellence in publishing with a $2,000 grand prize and various category honors and press type distinctions, as well as the winners of the Montaigne Medal, da Vinci Eye, and First Horizon Award. The book awards are covered in the US Review of Books. After the contest, books are donated to libraries, schools, and hospitals where appropriate."







Here are the award winners in the category:


GENERAL FICTION  

Winner: Blood Clay, Valerie Nieman, Press 53

1st Runner-Up:
* Green Gospel, L.C. Fiore, Livingston Press (University of Alabama)
 

Honorable Mentions:
* Crooked Creek, Maximilian Werner, Torrey House Press
* The Meaning of Children, Beverly Akerman, Exile Editions
* Alabaster Houses, Lara McLaughlin, Wye Knot Books
* Letters in Cardboard Boxes, Abbey Slovin, Abbey Slovin

 

To find out about the winners and placers in other categories, please consult http://www.hofferaward.com/HAbookwinners.html




Eric Hoffer 2012 

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:



* Too Shy For Show-and-Tell, Beth Bracken, illustrated by Jennifer Bell, Picture Window Books

 

Congratulations to all the recognized 
authors, books, and publishers!

Monday 7 May 2012

My Supermoon



Took this photo at the end of my street last night...love it. Puts me in mind of one of my favourite stories from The Meaning Of Children, "Sea of Tranquillity."

Sweet dreams.

Saturday 5 May 2012

When memory lane takes a wrong turn: Alleviating PTSD


HOME /  The Memory Doctor :  The future of false memories.

The Future of the Past

Cleansing our minds of crime and vice.









Karim Nader has been contemplating memory for years, particularly how memories are acquired, stored and recalled. Can they be disrupted, and if so, how? The psychology professor's earlier work, on the malleability of memory, inspired the 2004 Kate Winslet-Jim Carrey flick Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Now, with McGill psychologist Alain Brunet and Harvard psychiatrist Roger Pitman, his findings in rodents are being applied to people incapacitated by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The study is near completion and the results are encouraging.

"We've known for a long time that memory is labile," Nader explained, "that after it's formed, it exists in this unstable state for a while until it's fixed into long-term memory," a process known as consolidation. His earlier work demonstrated that when a fixed, well-established memory is recalled, it re-enters this unstable state and can be disrupted, even to the point of functionally wiping the slate clean.

Through his research, it's become clear that memories can be restabilized every time they're activated, through a process called reconsolidation. In fact, the very act of recalling a stored memory puts it in a state that could, if you suffer a concussion for example, cause it to be lost. To preserve it, it must be stored again. Instead of simply recalling a memory, the brain forges it all over again in a new context. In a sense, when something is remembered, a new memory is created, one shaped by the changes that have happened to the brain since the memory was recalled the time before. This process is called reconsolidation.

Nader uses fear conditioning in rats as his experimental model. "Basically, we exposed them to a tone and then a mild shock to the feet, leading to a strong fear response displayed even when the animals heard the sound alone." With Glenn Schafe, a postdoc in Joseph LeDoux's lab at New York University, Nader rediscovered that rats could "forget" these deep-seated, fearful memories if treated with chemicals that stop the synthesis of proteins, but the memory had to be reactivated (by playing the tone) for chemical-induced amnesia to occur.

Nader found that recall and reconsolidation of memories depend on protein synthesis in the lateral and basal nuclei of a brain structure called the amygdala, the site where memories are stored in fear learning. These results were surprising. "For a hundred years, we thought that once a memory is fixed, it's fixed forever," he said. As an ironic aside, it seems similar findings were made in 1968 by Donald Lewis and others, and forgotten (or at least, not carried forward).

Nader's rodent work also established that "emotional memory is based in the amygdala, while consolidation and reconsolidation of conscious memory take place in the hippocampus;" memories attached to very strong emotions are much more likely to make the cut to long-term storage, due to the effect of stress hormones like adrenalin. It's as though these strong emotions highlight the experience in biological terms.

Beta adrenergic receptors on neurons are deeply involved in the consolidation of conscious memory in the amygdala, but they also affect blood pressure throughout the body, Nader noted. So could a blood pressure treatment affect painful memories, too? Harvard's Roger Pitman tried propanolol, a common blood pressure regulator, to treat trauma victims in the ER. The medication decreased his patients' risk of later developing PTSD.

Douglas trials promising

Now Alain Brunet, based at the Douglas Hospital, is trying propanolol in long- established PTSD. "Traumatic events can be human-made or natural accidents," he explained. "Events that are human-made really shatter people's expectations of others. The world becomes a very dangerous place. Rape and traumas related to [the actions of] others" are most likely to lead to PTSD, which affects up to 50 percent of those who experience trauma. Brunet, who assesses UN peacekeepers, said one million Canadians suffer from PTSD.

The study has treated 19 long-term PTSD sufferers with symptoms between one and 40 years of duration. They write about their experiences as vividly as possible and then receive a dose of propanolol significantly lower than usually prescribed for blood pressure problems. A week later, their trauma accounts are read back to them and psychophysiological indices are monitored. It's clear the reactions of those treated with propanolol are less severe.

"We're very excited," Brunet said. If the results hold" - another 10 subjects are required to be confident of the findings - "this could open the door to a new way of treating PTSD," because only about one-third of patients derive lasting benefit from current practices - cognitive behaviour therapy and anti-depressants.

"Hopefully, we can decrease the level of distress for these patients, so their memories of these events will be less overwhelming and more responsive to traditional treatments in psychiatry such as psychotherapy. You wouldn't want to erase them completely because they form a large part of a person's identity," Nader pointed out.

For more information about brain structure and function, please see The Brain from Top to Bottom.