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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Book Reviews : Book Review |
Into the Heart of India
by Patricia Paul-Carson
150 pages. $15 + $2.50 shipping in Canada or +$6.00 shipping internationally. Send cheque or money order to Patricia Paul-Cason, 38 Hereford Place, Ottawa, ON K1K 3S5.
All profits from sales of the book are donated to Child Haven InternationalSpiritual Warrior: One Man's Cancer Journal
by Dan Blasutti
106 pages.
All profits from sales of the book are donated to HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre in Waterloo, Ontario.Two books arrived recently at CharityVillage® within days of each other, each a very personal reflection on the experiences of their author. One writer travelled to India as a volunteer. The other fought a three-year-long battle with cancer.
Although they are separated by geography and time, each shares certain commonalities of theme and purpose. Each writer explores their own world, and lays it bare for the reader in an effort to bring comfort, understanding, and awareness.
Patricia Paul-Carson, a mother of three from Ottawa, left her family for three months at the beginning of 1999 to volunteer at an orphanage in Gandhinagar, India for Child Haven International.
Her story chronicles her day-to-day life during her time in India as she works at the orphanage and comes to grips with her fears, loneliness, excitement and wonder. It is filled with short vignettes of navigating the city on public transportation, attending a wedding, playing with the children and coping with the often unspoken cultural traditions of the region.
Into the Heart of India is a journal, a very personal reflection on a particular journey. It is not a guide to selecting an international volunteer project, but it will certainly be of interest to anyone who is considering volunteering abroad, particularly in India.
Paul-Carson reveals both her wonder and her frustrations with frank honesty as she chronicles her day-to-day life at the orphanage which was home to 26 young children.
Dan Blasutti, whose journal was published posthumously, offers rich reflections on his battle with cancer. Blasutti was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease in 1992 and died in 1995. Spiritual Warrior is a thoughtful collection of journal entries, poems and reflections from Blasutti as he came to terms with his disease and challenged its progress every day.
Blasutti builds his spirituality, as he puts it, "in bits and pieces", working with a variety of therapists, counsellors, guides and healers. Whether writing from his home in Kitchener or his hospital bed at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario, Blasutti's musings track his own path in dealing with his disease. The book also pays homage to kindness of those around him, including his family, spiritual guide, co-workers and fellow cancer patients.
Both authors are donating the proceeds from their work to charitable organizations -- Paul-Carson to Child Haven International, and the Blasutti family to HopeSpring Cancer Support Centre.
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