Asian-American-Health Books

I bought the book early on a Saturday at a fund raiser for Handi-Dogs. I was privileged to meet Alice in person before I read the book. She was introduced to me by my brother and we spoke briefly. I went home, sat down and thought I would read just a bit of the book. About 2 AM I finished the book. I shed tears, laughter, humility, pride, joy in this brief time. What a special, special person she is. I am purchasing her book for my friends. Even if one does not have cancer or have a friend or relative that does, it is a book about an intelligent, gentle, brave woman with a deep sense of responsibility to help others. I felt I had sat at the feet of a "true teacher" and "superior person". There are indeed angels here on earth to guide us.

When I first read this book, I realized I had found a very personal and sensitive resource to share with a friend who was just beginning the journey through breast cancer survival. Dr. Chang's words provided what I did not know myself or did not yet have the courage to offer to my friend. This book gives information that one needs to know about breast cancer. Of equal importance, it captures the whole array of feelings that cancer unleashes on a person. Add this book to your personal collection -- some day you or someone you know will be glad you did.

This book is a must read for students of medicine, psychology, counseling, social work, and health related fields! Dr. Chang provides insightful and educated information concerning helpful and harmful behaviors of helping professionals. Her description of her cancer treatment was detailed and realistic. I could not put the book down! Dr. Chang's emotions and behaviors during various stages of her treatment were very similar to my experience undergoing treatment for colon cancer. I think that this book will give the average population an awareness of what it is like to have cancer!

Dr. Chang's book A Survivor's Guide to Breast Cancer is a pehonmenal read. For the newly diagnosed, it can prepare and educate the patient and those who support her. for those in the midst of treatment, this book will help confirm and validate a patient's emotional and physiological experiences. The patient that has completed active treatment will be able to use Dr. Chang's book as an adjunct to therapy, to help process and bring to closure the ordeal she has been through. A patient's family members, friends, and even treatment team would benefit from this candid book. It is through Dr. Chang's selfless and uninhibited sharing that any one interested, will come to know "first hand" what it's like to have breat cancer. Dr. Chang leaves nothing out - from resources to practical suggestions, to coping strategies including the value of humor. It's a must read for breast cancer patients and anyone that works with them.

Dr. Alice Chang has written an incredibly moving account of her own bout with breast cancer. The book is truly an inspiration! The parts I like best include first, the conversational tone. Second, Alice models ideal patient behaviour. I'm taking this book with me next time I visit my physician. Third, she's very methodical in what she reports. I never doubted the accuracy of her word. Fourth, I really like the photographs. At first I thought the idea was kind of hokey, but once I looked at them, I quickly changed my mind. Last, there is a wonderful resource guide for anyone dealing with cancer, either personally or for a loved one. Alice, thank you so much for your more than wonderful work!

The author skillfully relates his combat experiences, the delayed onset of P.T.S.D., its effect on his family, his treatment, and eventual conquest of his condition. The suspense slowly builds until the ultimate cause of his trauma, "the darkness" is revealed to the reader. Schedule your reading of "Farewell Darkness" when you have a lot of spare time. You may not be able to put this one down.

Of the numerous books written on the War in Vietnam, I believe this is the defining work of the life and times of a Marine Helicopter Crew Chief and his battles fought during and after the war.
It is a story of undying friendship, terror, laughter and the sadness of loss. But most of all it is a story about the heart of a man and his sense of duty to friends and family. It is a journey none should wish to take, but it raises the spirit to follow Ron and his battle to overcome his personal war.

It is the essence of "Semper Fidelis" (always faithful). It is the story of one VMO-3 Marine Crew Chief, a title not given nor easily earned, and the men with whom he served.
Outstanding, well written and a clarity next to none.

Great book. I have given it to my son in the hope that he may better understand his father.

When I first came across "Farewell Darkness," I was looking for an account that would give me a solid insight into the effects of combat trauma. As a novelist, I needed to get more deeply inside the head of one of my characters, and though my subject's time was different, war is still war, only the technology changes. Not only did I find what I was looking for in this book, but I also found a tremendously moving, intense story of war, trauma and recovery that should be read by anyone who lived in the Vietnam era, veteran and civilian. Ron Zaczek writes with eloquence, crisp detail and a straightforward honesty rarely found in personal accounts of serving In Country. With profound insight and courage, he sorts through the fear, guilt and anger that he suffered. And even without having been in war personally, I have learned quite a bit about how fear, guilt and anger are irrevocably interconnected and how we face similar degrees of them in everyday life. Highly recommended.

As the wife of a Khe Sanh Viet Nam veteran, I have watched my husband of 25 years deal with his own personal war - struggling through his memories of Viet Nam. In "Farewell Darkness", Ron Zaczek helped me to understand more clearly the phases my husband has gone through and the emotional hell he lives with every day. This book is a must-read for anyone whose loved one suffers from PTSD as a result of Viet Nam.

This book provides a unique account of the Viet Nam war seen through the eyes of psychiatrist. Doug Bey's account of treatment in the battlefields and the sidelines was compelling; I read it cover to cover and ignored all other demands until done.

I was captured by this journey of war that unfolds in stories both large and small with the insightful commentary that comes from the original experiences, tempered by long years in the field of psychiatry.

While this memoir is rooted in the Viet Nam experience it has implications for the current men and women in the armed forces and should be required reading for those involved in the treatment of mental illness and the trauma of war.

However, the heart of the story remains one man's voice telling us the stories of war with all it's characters, events, and personal change. It's a gem of a book.

We all know, or knew, someone in Nam. An easily readable, enlightening chronicle of the time with touches of humor. I highly recommend this book.

Great narration of life in a support unit in Vietnam, the problems faced when returning home and the lasting effect on the lives of those who served. Very much enjoyed and appreciated.

War memoirs rarely show up on my reading list. Therefore, my enthusiasm about this book is not based on widely comparative reading in this area, but rather on the merits of this book itself. I really enjoyed reading this book, viewing familiar material from a completely different perspective than I would ever have had from my own experience, and it is a darn good read as well. Bey was a young psychiatrist in his early 30s when his induction notice arrived. His time of military service included a tour of duty in Vietnam at the height of the war, 1969-1970, reflections on which form the heart of this book. Bey was one of a small group of psychiatrists assigned to combat divisions (Wizard 6 was his radio handle). Each of these divisions had one psychiatrist, one social work officer, and several social work and psychology techs. These teams of mental health specialists found themselves in the strange position of helping others adjust to an environment that was itself plainly bizarre. Bey relates these initial impressions in a masterful chapter, "Stepping Through the Looking Glass," drawing the comparison to the Lewis Carroll classic. As just one example among many of the young doctor learning the rules by which this strange world was governed, Bey relates a time early in his tour in which he was requested by a military court to evaluate a prisoner charged with criminal offenses. Bey dutifully wrote a lengthy evaluation, stating in as many ways as he knew how that this prisoner suffered from a personality disorder, not a mental illness, and was therefore likely to repeatedly criminally offend. Surprised that the court let the man off, Bey found out that the court had not read his evaluation at all, but surmised from the heft of it that this man had genuine psychiatric problems. However, they were so miffed at having to let this criminal offender off the hook that they really threw the book at the poor guy following in the docket!
There are many very interesting features of this memoir. Bey deals very forthrightly with issues of racial, class and cultural differences in relation both to military justice and to psychiatric and mental health issues. He approaches these issues with a clear, personal point of view, but is refreshingly aware of the strengths and limitations of his own perspectives. He also recognized the peculiar position he and his fellow medics were in as relatively high-ranking officers who had no long-range military career goals. Their indifference to military protocol was sometimes comical, sometimes rebellious, sometimes useful in getting things accomplished outside of channels, but it was also always a position of privilege.
One of the things that surprised me in this memoir was the almost complete absence of any discussion of politics. Although Bey does suggest that he was politically very conservative (just to the right of Genghis Khan, he says...) and generally supported the war effort (albeit, with grave doubts about the way the war was being conducted) candid discussion of war politics simply does not come up, either in the direct talk among the officers or in Bey's own interpretive narrative. The nearest to it is one episode in which, at the behest of a black fellow officer with whom he was very close, Bey attended a meeting of black enlisted men and relates the speeches presented there, which focused on their anger and resentment at fighting for the freedom of Vietnamese while having freedoms denied to them in the USA. This episode is related, however, not in the context of discussion of the war itself, but of racial tensions within the military. The main sense one gets here is that, aside from brief episodes of extreme action, the war was experienced by the soldiers themselves as grindingly boring. I suppose this strikes me so strongly exactly because, as I remember those years, heated discussions about the war seemingly consumed us stateside, and this brings home again the chasm of difference in perspective between those who actively participated in the war and those, like me, who did not.

"Velcome Captain. You are the new Vizard-Ya?" "Ya. I mean, yes sir." "Vell, I must tell you dat I don't know if I believe in psychiatry." "That's okay, sir; I'm not sure I belive in colonels." This interchange took place in 1969 when Doug Bey M.D. aarrived at the base camp of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) in Di An, Vietnam, to begin a one year tour of duty. His reponses to the U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with the German accent are vintage Doug Bey. They show his quick wit and his way with words, his irreverence and his college-wrestler toughness.
I write with familiarity because Doug and I took psychiatric residences togther at the Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas. We were goth in the Berry Plan, in which the Army allowed us to complete our training but then expected us to go on active duty for two years. Doug and I both ended up in Vietnam. I was hospital based at the 67th Evaucation Hospital in Qui Nhon.
Being assigned to a division meant that Doug had a Jeep and the freedom of movement to get a good pulse of the whole unit. His radio call sign was Wizard 6. He and his talented techs took care of all kinds of emotional problems but found the so-called combat fatigue of previous wars less prevalent in Vietnam. Instead were acting up personality disorders, racial issues, communications problems between officers and the often quite young soldiers, alcohol and drug problems, and anti-establishment attitudes reflective of the anti-warm movement in the U.S.
In Topeka Doug had studied the psychology of organizations under Dr. Harry Levinson. Doug applied the techniques of organizational case study to the 1st Infantry Division. His goal was to find stress points, such as abusive officers or nonsensical regulartions, and to try to deal with such problems before they became major. This emphasis prevades the book and provids exceptional insights of a unit at war.
Doug also writes of his own coping devices in an unpopular war far from home. He tried to forget about home, immersed himself in his work, developed relationships with his colleagues, observed and kept notes, isolated negative feelings and stayed away from war politics.He also admits that he overused alcohol to self-medicate. He reports one frightening experience when he was to intoxicated at the time of a Red Alert that he mistook a friend for the enemy and pointed and pulled the trigger on his .45. What saved a tragedy was that he forgot to remove the safety. Throughout the book he is unsparing in presenting his own failings, which makes his story ring true.
He writes of how his Vietnam experiences affect him even to this day. He has a lifetime of things to ponder, such as the obviously battle-hardened infantryman who barged into Doug's office and announced that he wanted the doctor to know that he was gay and who then ran off; or the grieving crowd around a Vietnamese boy who lay next to his mangled bicycle, the victim of a US military truck that didn't stop.
Doug also compares and contrasts Vietnam with Iraq. His disquieting conclusion is that the two conflicts are becoming more and more similar.
This book has value not only for the people with military interests but also for mental health workers. The descriptions of the smells and noises of the country and of the people and their sad plight rang so true to me. I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I read. Doug really got it the way it was. My biggest disappointment is that I didn't write this book. But I'm glad somebody did.

Ed Colbach M.D.

At last someone with experience, education and common sense speaks out with compassion about the human side of trauma and the horrors of war. Dr. Scurfield's frank and heartfelt thoughts will change the way you look at life and those injured by stress and trauma. Great insights for anyone exposed to stress, trauma and combat.

A "must read" for everyone, especially those at the VA, Walter Reed, the White House and Capitol Hill!

War Trauma. Lessons Unlearned From Vietnam to Iraq.
Dr. Scurfield's third volume of his war trauma trilogy is by far and unequivocally, the most precise, frank, and heart-rendering publication on the subject matter of war's far reaching and unending impact, whether for the clinician's toolbox or the war veteran seeking answers that simply do not exist elsewhere. For example, I found the chapters on "Iraq and War Zone Psychiatric Casualties", "The Return Home and the Ricochet Effect on the Family", and "War Trauma-Related Blame, Guilt, and Shame: Relief is Possible" to be particularly salient and meaningful in their characterization of the trail of damages brought on by wartime service, as well as the great hope that exists for adapting and overcoming. Beyond any doubt, it is the fact that Dr. Scurfield has been in the trenches himself and lived war up close and personal that has allowed his pure genius to portray the essence of war so magnificently. This book is the ultimate and essential toolbox for the clinician, the veteran, and the family in terms of understanding and confronting the agonizing battle to overcome the damages sustained through exposure to the most unnatural and horrific of experiences. Stated simply, there is nothing out there in the literature that does so nearly as skillfully.

Colonel Kathy Platoni, Psy.D.

Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (5/07)

"War Trauma" by Raymond Scurfield is the third volume of "A Vietnam Trilogy." The first two volumes were "Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress, 1968, 1989 & 2000" and "Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans." It is not necessary to read the first two volumes to understand the third volume, although reading the first two volumes may enhance the reader's understanding of the third.

Dr. Scurfield is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast. His qualifications for writing about the Vietnam War include being a Vietnam Veteran, working twenty-five years for the Department of Veteran Affairs, directing PTSD mental health programs throughout the US, and numerous publications, presentations, and years of research on Vietnam and post-traumatic stress. He has also written on the post-traumatic stress that resulted from September 11th and Hurricane Katrina.

"War Trauma" itself is an eye-opening study of the effects of war on veterans. Dr. Scurfield uses examples from all the wars the United States has been involved in since World War II, but he primarily focuses on Vietnam and how the situation in Iraq is similar to Vietnam for U.S. Soldiers. Despite my own large ignorance of the Vietnam War, I found "War Trauma" to be compelling reading. Much of what Dr. Scurfield discusses is relevant to anyone who has experienced traumatic situations. Dr. Scurfield discusses this relevance toward the book's end when he talks about how the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina are similar to those experienced in a war zone.

One of the most effective chapters of "War Trauma" discussed how people can learn to understand a family member who has returned home from the war. One striking story was of a wife who has continually dug fifteen pieces of shrapnel out of her husband's skin. Dr. Scurfield gives excellent examples of how to be supportive and listen without prying and what behaviors to expect from a veteran suffering from PTSD. Another vital chapter in the book focused on healing the guilt and blame veterans feel when they return home after their comrades have died in battle. Guilt also exists over killing an enemy who is really human but whom the army had to dehumanize to perform its job, and guilt exists over killing innocent civilians out of fear they may actually be the enemy. Dr. Scurfield's "percentages of responsibility" procedure for helping a veteran stop blaming himself or helping him deal with pain was especially effective; the procedure allows the veteran to quit blaming himself or another solely and to realize to what percentage he was really responsible and to what percentage the enemy, the government, and fellow soldiers were responsible; this realigning of guilt and blame consequently provides a great deal of healing for the veteran. This technique can equally be applied to anyone suffering from guilt and self-blame.

I have two criticisms of "War Trauma". The first is that the book has many typos in it of extra, repeated words, and missing words. These errors created a problem because the sentences were long and complex and when the verb was missing, I would often have to go back to reread the sentence and struggle to figure out its meaning. I also strongly disagree with Dr. Scurfield's statement that every citizen in a nation at war is responsible for the traumatic events of that war. I do not think the millions of U.S. citizens who have opposed the war in Iraq since the beginning, who did not elect the current administration, and who are not in the military can be blamed for actions they cannot control and have fought to prevent. In other places, Dr. Scurfield mentions the difficulties for people who protest a war, which in itself may be the more patriotic action, while at the same time being accused of being unpatriotic. I wish he would have qualified or expanded on his statement that everyone in a nation at war was responsible for traumatic events; I felt it was too severe and out of place.

Overall, I recommend "War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned, From Vietnam to Iraq" to anyone whose loved one is a war veteran, as well as to anyone interested in learning what war is truly like. Even people who have undergone traumatic non-war experiences such as rape, physical abuse, or being in a car accident would find the many discussions of how to overcome trauma to be useful. Dr. Scurfield is to be commended for his many efforts to provide healing to veterans and their families.

Dr. Scurfield is one of the recognized international experts in trauma and PTSD. That fact was reaffirmed with his third book in his trilogy on the impact of war. This is an important book, and extremely timely given the emerging picture of a society embroiled in a war, not only destructive to foreign lands, but to the soldiers who fight there and who return with both visible and invisible wounds, many that will take a life-time to heal. Dr. Scurfield does these soldiers justice, a rare phenomenon - An important and essential book, to understand where we have been and how we continue to re-enact the dilemmas of warfare and their aftermath. I cannot praise this work enough.

I like that this book starts as soon as you open the book.. not 3 pages later! On the inside cover with items one might use to make a kite. The next page shows the narrator and her family at the store picking out these items on a beautiful windy day made for kite flying!

I like that Grace Lin uses the Chinese names for each of family members Baba- dad, Mei Mei - little sister, Jie-Jie older sister and everyone know who Ma-Ma is! Each page is a visual treat for the readers eyes.

Once the story ends, the book doesn't end there Grace tells the readers a brief history of kites and how the Chinese thought that kites could carry away their bad luck & talk to the spirits in the sky. Kites where also in the shapes that the person flying it wished to possess. The author shares that a dragon kite symbolizes power, widom and wealth. She also talks China's annual kite-flying day the double 9 festival and how kite flying spread through out the world. Turn the page, this book continues on showing the reader different types of kites in all sorta of animals and what they stand for!

I also love that when read the little blurp about the author she talks of flying kites with her family and that her favorite kite was a store bought kite called King Kong and how that one day while flying broke free and that Grace still wonders if it's still up there in the sky somewhere flying! I hope she's right!

Grace Lin's pages are filled with spirograph-like swirls, bright patterns, bold colors, and even more colors. The inside cover is filled with drawings of the tools needed to make a kite (paper, scissors, paint, glue, etc), while the back inside cover is filled with the meanings attributed to the types of kites you fly (dragons for wisdom, dragonflies for Summer, butterflies for love, fish for abundance, taods for long life, etc). The whole family is involved in making the feng zheng kite, and then they ascend a hill to fly it with other families. She closes the book by asking the reader to imagine what people's kites are saying about their wishes and desires.

In "Kite Flying," by Grace Lin, a family makes a dragon kite together and then takes it out for a flight. It's a simple story that effectively combines brightly colored illustrations with an easy-to-read text. Sample text: "It is a good day for kites." It's an enjoyable story that is also a positive portrayal of a family at work on a project together.

At the end of the book is a short supplemental article which describes the history of kite flying and discusses some Chinese traditions related to this activity. There is also an illustrated gallery of various animal kites: butterfly, crab, fish, etc.

The illustrations are great and the kids love to make all the buzz sounds throughout the story. As a parent, it's one of my favorites and I still find it entertaining after reading it 4,867 times.

My children and I truly enjoyed Buzz. The story is a very sweet look at daily happenings that children can directly relate to and the illustrations are very beautiful--both my three year old and five year old are drawn to them. This book is a wonderful addition to our family's daily reading repertoire. I highly recommend it.

I can not imagine reading DR Scurfield's first book and not being eager to read this, his second, as soon as possible. I have worked with PTSD in Vietnam Veterans for 20 years and counting. In this endeavor I have read everything available on the subject, most describing heart wrenching despair and leaving one with grief for a lost generation. DR Scurfield leaves one with a sense of peace, hope, and meaningfulness. Please, if you are, or have in your life, a wounded and mourning Vietnam Veteran PURCHASE THIS BOOK & READ IT CAREFULLY. Healing CAN occur. Those with secondary traumatization (family & friends)will not only have a better empathic understanding of the veteran, but will know that their sacrifice in remaining loyal and supportive is not in vain. VIETNAM VETERANS, STAND PROUD.

Reviewed By Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (4/07)

This book is Volume 2 of "A Vietnam Trilogy." Ray Scurfield, Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast, draws from his own personal experience as a veteran of the Vietnam War and from three decades of working with hundreds of combat veterans of the Vietnam War and of other wars. Dr. Scurfield served as a social work Army officer on a psychiatric team in Vietnam from 1968-69.

The trilogy is to give the general public insights into the impact of war on veterans, their reactions to the stress of combat and postwar readjustment, and to help veterans in the lifelong recovery process. The book is written in an easy-to-read format, often using the actual words of interviewed war veterans. Scurfield included material provided in collaboration with Steve Tice, fellow veteran and colleague.

"Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans" included material from a precedent-setting study-abroad course in Vietnam sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi that integrated university students with combat veterans in a study of Vietnam's history and mental health.. Dr. Scurfield also provides an analysis of the benefits and shortcomings of veterans returning to their former battlefields.

Using stories of veterans, the author's own journals, and his understanding as a mental health professional Scurfield describes their experiences during the war; and the healing process nurtured by innovative return trips to peace-time Vietnam.

Scurfield addresses another three important aspects of war and readjustment: the evacuation experiences of military personnel wounded during battle and ultimately medically evacuated to the United States; the racism that is inculcated during basic training, reinforced in the war zone; and the collusion and denial of the full human impact of war by powerful forces in our society. I was alarmed to learn how racism is infused in the basic training of our recruits through the attitudes and behavior patterns modeled for them by their trainers.

Scurfield's extensive research is well-documented. "Healing Journeys" is written for physicians, care providers, and counselors. The book also provides a vicarious "healing journey" for veterans, their families and others. This is an outstanding book. The entire "Vietnam Trilogy" is an important contribution to the books written on the Vietnam War.

RAYMOND'S PERFECT PRESENT is a quiet,thoughtful story that reminds us that sometimes acts of love bring joy in unexpected ways. In her gentle portrayal of Raymond, the author, Therese On Louie, acknowledges that the small acts of a child really do matter.

The soft tones of this beautifully illustrated book add a richness to the text.

This story is lovely and heartwarming. The pictures are luminous. This book is itself the "perfect" present.

Very well done volume, thoughtful, not a "flash in the pan", both good science and good clinical care. One of the few volumes I have ever seen to address the care of wounded and the issues of CBW in historical context, as well as POWs and the stress on families. Comprehensive.

A very interesting and detailed look into the life of this young Hmong child and the important role that cultural barriers played in her medical care. A wonderful account from both points of views. I would say this is a must read for any doctor.

marvelous book, well worth a thoughtful read; a little Hmong girl caught between well-meaning medical establishment and traditional culture. In microscopic detail shows how caring is not enough--cultural knowledge and understanding is needed as well. The author did a remarkable job, not only is the research impressive but the book is a great read. One of the best books I've read this year.

Because this book came along with two others, one which was quite huge and heavy, the book cover was damaged when it arrived. Other than that it arrived within estimated arrival time.

This was an wonderfully written nonfiction book that offers insight for helping professionals working with the Hmong population. The author gives a detailed account of how cultural and communication barriers affected medical treatment for a Hmong child. The outcome for this child and family could likely have been different had the professionals understood more about the Hmong culture and had been able to communicate with the family, incorporating their beliefs and understanding of the child's diagnosis. This book reminds helping professionals that utilizing an interpreter with cultural brokering skills is beneficial for everyone involved.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down chronicles the story of a little epileptic Hmong girl whose family does not accept the ways of the Western world and Western medicine. After reading this book, I find that I am more understanding to other cultures and ways of life. I too held almost an elitist opinion of the "American Way". This book gives a glimpse into the other side of the story. Good parenting is subjective and cultural. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like to become more open-minded and accepting.