Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb

This memoir may be a quick read for students. Written in a journal format was a refreshing style since it was easier to follow along with than "Lucky Man". As an eleven year old, Lori gets a lesson early in life about what women feel about eating. Her mother skips desserts, tastes from her husbands plate and mentions how important her appearance repeatedly. Definitely a problem in society during the 70's and perhaps still an issue today in 2010.

I was amazed at how young Lori was when she wrote this journal as well as how quickly she deteriorated. I was very surprised at the awareness of eating habits that an eleven year old girl noticed. The relationships in this memoir between Lori and her friends, her parents, andf her doctor all played a role ub her eating disorder. The one relationship that played an important factor in her getting better was with the terminally ill, Nora. I think this story will appeal to students because they can maker connections to Lori about appearance and how peers relate to them.

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox

A memoir in which actor Michael J. Fox shares the story of his life, discussing his childhood in Canada, his career in show business, his marriage and family, and his struggle with Parkinson's disease. The fact that Fox wrote this memoir himself was enough to hook me! I thought it was very well done. I was taken in by the conversational tone of the book, and how he interweaves the past and present. I found this book, on one level, easy to read and, as a fan of Family Ties and Back to the Future, satisfying.

As we were looking for titles intended to inspire and motivate students could this book work? How many students would know who Alex P. Keaton was? Did they ever see Back to the Future or Doc Hollywood? Would they pick up this book? I'm not sure. It might take some selling, but for students, either with parents suffering from an illness, or if they are battling an illness themselves, I thought this book could be extremely inspiring. I am amazed that, after reading this book, Michael J. Fox had me convinced that he was indeed a better man because of his struggles with Parkinson's disease. No easy feat. I appreciated his optimism and honesty in talking about his early Hollywood years (did not gloss over too much) and with his struggles.

I am anxious to see what you all thought, I wonder if my opinion is clouded by my age and television viewing habits!

Welcome

According to our district's keynote speaker, Allison Zmuada, a good way to help at-risk students is through reading inspirational biographies of people who have overcome great odds. We will explore biographies that model the ability to overcome great adversity, to survive, persevere and succeed in life. In addition, the genre of non-fiction can provide our students with more opportunities to develop essential reading and critical thinking skills. We look forward to working with you this year. Our first blog is Michael J. Fox's bio, Lucky Man. Blogging for this book will start on December 1st.

Kathy and Chris