Book Review | Flowing with the Go by Elena Stowell
July 23, 2012 by admin · Leave a Comment
Five years ago, a lovely young friend of our family, Carly Stowell, suddenly died at the tender age of 14. Carly was the oldest of three children of Chuck and Elena Stowell, and a remarkable young person – straight-A student, nationally recognized basketball player on track for a college career, and a star musician.
She also was a sweet, open and loving child who played nicely with our younger kids and served as an outstanding role model for our daughter.
In the wake of Carly’s death, Elena and her entire family suffered immensely. During Elena’s long journey since, chronicled in her new book, Flowing with the Go, there are some powerful lessons for us in how to love, how to deal with tragedy and, ultimately find our own path to healing.
The book started off as a personal journal for Elena, not intended to be seen or shared with others. But at the encouraging of a friend, she recently decided to publish it.
The story starts with the gripping and heart-wrenching moments when Elena’s world came crashing down, as her daughter died suddenly and inexplicably in her arms while on a basketball trip. Then it moves into Elena’s initial grieving – wrought with social paralysis, taking a leave from her job as a high school science teacher, chronic sleeplessness, self-medicating with alcohol, and writing in her journal.
Book Review | Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki
Unwittingly, Guy Kawasaki faced fierce competition on my bedside table. I was in the midst of reading “The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told” by the finest writers on ice when I received an advance copy of Guy’s latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. Guy and I met playing ice hockey and while I enjoy technology and marketing, my first love continues to be ice hockey. How could I put down stories about flaming Zambonis and a cow being killed during the intermission of a Texas minor league hockey game for Guy’s latest foray into the literary world? (Well a deadline does serve to energize at times).
I recently asked Guy, amidst middle aged gasps for breath in between shifts of a pick-up hockey game, how many books he’s written. ”Ten” was his response. ”How the hell do you find the time?” ”This is what I do.” Simple as that . . . it is what he does.