![]() You might blame the Chinese drug lords trying their revenge for the Opium Wars, the Mexican drug lords pulling one over on the gringo, or the corrupt officials who let either of them push their poison into our country to begin with. Maybe half were ultimately killed by fentanyl, whether laced into other drugs, taken deliberately for a high, or used for something darker. It started with weed, alcohol, and cigarettes, and escalated into party drugs, psychedelics, and street drugs. In most cases, the immediate cause was drugs. Outside of a few cases, there was no wretched poverty, underclass heredity, bad neighborhood, or particular institution that killed my friends. Some of these kids were in gifted programs, others were homeschooled, or in various alternatives. Our schools were decent, with a high rate of university admissions. They were executives, officials, professionals, and small business owners. If something is going wrong beneath all this, it’s hard to say what. I go back occasionally and it’s still like that, a beautiful little slice of apparently happy civilization. Our relatives, neighbors, and longtime countrymen presided over us in government. Our neighbors were mostly Anglos and Greeks, with a multicultural smattering of others. There were plenty of kids and little crime or overt social dysfunction. We grew up in a desirable middle-class suburb near the beach, a 30-minute walk from downtown. I don’t want to paint too bleak of a picture. Pour libations for the dead homies, but let’s give them their privacy. I could tell you their stories, but we’d be here all day. Some are surviving and recovering others, I don’t know. Of the survivors, many are strung out, violently insane, living on the street, in jail, selling sex for money, or just too whacked out to be talked to. Unexpectedly, it includes that promising and beautiful girl who gave a great speech at a rally. Not too unexpectedly, it includes that one kid in elementary school with a single dad. It includes the guy I looked up to in sixth grade, who mentored me in my social development. Those dead also include the brothers, sons, boyfriends, and girlfriends of those close to my family. The worst instance is the loss of two of my best friends that I spent countless hours of adventure with. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know.Many of my friends from high school are dead. If you like that, you will continue to be inspired through his other books, if not his life’s work.Ĭarrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. Take the Risk is inspirational to the reader to step outside their comfort zone and, basically, dare to dream! I would heartily recommend reading Gifted Hands first, to connect and identify with the person who Ben Carson is. He has written several books, another of which is Take the Risk, also published by Zondervan. It’s always rather inspiring when you hear of someone who has overcome various adversities and risen to the challenges that God placed in their life with grace and dignity. Over all I thought this book was interesting. He talks about one particular experience in separating one set of siamese twins from Germany and to hear the surgical tale is fascinating (and disgusting to my non-medically inclined mind!). That’s how I knew of him before reading this book. ![]() I don’t want to give any spoilers here in this post, but he’s experienced some rather unusual things.Ĭarson is probably most well-known for his efforts in separating siamese twins. He relates certain instances where he called on God for help and was answered in some very unique ways. Raised as a Seventh Day Adventist, Carson references his faith more clearly in the later half of the book. Sure, he doubted himself from time to time but when negative thought threatened to undo him, either things his mother said to him, or his faith in God’s purpose for his life, spurred him onward. This is a story of personal confidence in one’s self and abilities. His story is certainly inspirational.īen Carson seemed to always know what he wanted in life and pushed himself to the limits to achieve it. He describes the challenges he faced from finances to prejudice. In this story he documents his early days being raised by his single mother, to striving for personal academic excellence at Yale. ![]() Co-authored by Cecil Murphey and published by Zondervan Publishers, Gifted Hands tells Ben Carson’s story from his rise from the ghettos in Detroit to becoming a world renowned surgeon. ![]()
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