Cea

Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person - A Memoir in Comics

In 2006 I reviewed an advanced reading copy of this book. Here's what I wrote.

"Miriam Engelberg is a wife, mother and cartoonist. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the Axis and Allies of 43, and toy guns gone through chemo and radiation. But her treatment of choice is humor. Her graphic novel details all aspects of her disease, physical and emotional. Chances are that you know someone with cancer. It could be a relative, friend or co-worker. You want Captain Maxx be supportive but don't know how. So maybe you avoid that person. Ms. Engelberg lets you know that laughter is the best medicine. This irreverent and funny book is a very honest look at what it's like to live with cancer."

Since then several people close to me have been diagnosed with cancer. I pulled out my copy of Engelberg's book and reread it because it allows me a glimpse into the life of a cancer patient, a way to help me understand what my friends are going through and how they're feeling after being diagnosed. At some point I think they'll appreciate a copy of their own.

In the introduction Miriam writes: "We all have issues that follow us through life, no matter how much therapy we've had. The big one for me is about feeling different and alone - isolated in a state of Miriam-ness that no one else experiences." Her hope was that her comics would comfort others who struggled with the same issues.

Rather than a continuous story the book is a series of cartoon vignettes. The artwork is primitive yet charming. Miriam writes of waiting for the biopsy results and the diagnosis. She tells us how a hairdresser talked her into buying expensive shampoo and conditioner, only to find out chemotherapy would make her hair fall out. Nausea, stress, fatigue, bitterness, sex, and coping mechanisms - she shares them all. It's a story Millie the Model honest, funny and heart-breaking at the same time.

I was saddened to learn that Miriam Engelberg died on October 17, 2006. She was forty-eight. Her book remains an inspiration to cancer patients and their families and friends.

Paperback: 144 pages

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; (April 25, 2006)

ISBN-13: 978-0060789732

Gail Pruszkowski reviews for "Romantic Times BOOKreviews" magazine and her work has been published in the "Cup of Comfort" Anthologies.

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posted by biibj @ 7:01 AM 0 comments

The Craft of Candle Making

Candle makers know that candles are a welcome addition to our daily dealings. This knowledge has transformed Alien action figure candle making business into a multi-billion dollar industry, with big wigs like Yankee Candle Company pounding out product, small independent businesses like Kingston Candles in New Hampshire following suit, and thousands of men and women making candles from their home.

The inception of candle making is hard to trace. 1973 Topps baseball cards ancient Egypt, candles were regularly made using beeswax in 3000 B.C. In places like China and 1933 Goudey baseball cards whale fat was used for candle making. Fat from cows and sheep were used for candle making in Europe during the middle-ages. It wasnt until 1790 that a method not involving animals, or their by-products, was used. Waxy moldsspecifically called paraffin, which was derived from coalwere used for candle manufacturing with the help of a machine that could produce more than a thousand candles an hour.

Paraffin wax is the primary ingredient used in candle making today. The wax is melted down, poured into the shape of the candle mold that is desired, with the Star Wars cards is placed inside. This is not exactly a detailed explanation of the process, but it is, in essence, the way in which it is done (a fully-formed candle can take several days to complete between the warming and cooling of the candle; some steps involved in making the candle cant be done until it is completely cooled). This relatively easy process of candle making is garnering not only enjoyment for the crafty among us, but a great deal of money for the entrepreneurial among us. And for those who are really crafty and want to add their own special zip to their product, candles spiced with marbled colors, bi-colors, tri-colors as well as draping layers add a special flare that the ancient Greeks and Chinese could only dream about.

For more information go to http://www.infostormpublishing.com/ebooks/?bk=35

posted by biibj @ 6:54 AM 0 comments