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29 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The other side of Rachel Corrie, March 28, 2008
We have all read the final emails of Rachel Corrie, and mourned the death of one of the most compassionate and courageous young women ever to walk the face of this earth. We know about her concern for the oppressed peoples of this world, and her desire to stamp out hunger from the speech she made at the tender age of ten. However, this new book, 'Let Me Stand Alone', shows us the other side of Rachel - fun loving, vivacious, and a brilliant young writer and drawer. Her writing on her boyfriend's 'addiction to bee keeping' is remarkable, and the description of her big sister is very touching. Her love for her parents is beautifully expressed and her compassion for the less fortunate in the world is marvelous. She has more understanding about homelessness and our attitude to it than many adults in their 40s or 50s. It is astonishing that she wrote the piece about the homeless (page 15) at the tender age of 11.
Rachel's attitude towards the mentally ill is equally admirable. So often the treatment of the mentally ill is condescending and extremely arrogant. Clearly, they are inferior beings. Rachel's humility and caring towards her clients when she worked for the local mental health services is one in a million.
Her essays in creative writing are unique. Whoever else has ever thought of evoking childhood memories through the Tooth Fairy?
The subjects on which Rachel writes seem to be limitless, and many are extremely witty: entertaining articles about mowing the lawn, where buses go at night, how to deal with teenagers, and 'conservation' work in national parks.
Rachel's warmth and sensitivity shine out from every page, but above all, her irrepressible sense of humor.
Rachel's family has been extremely generous to share the writings of their daughter with the general public, especially since so much of it includes personal details. Take hold of this book, and treasure it, as the opportunity to read such a book only comes once in a lifetime.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Brilliant Life Cut Short by Violence, May 27, 2008
Journals offer private thoughts not intended for an audience; rather, they serve as a means of sorting out life's challenges and exposing one's inner demons. Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie leads the reader into Rachel's inner world as she negotiates the challenges of adolescence and early adulthood. Sadly, her life comes to an untimely end when she faced down a bulldozer that was about to destroy a Palestinian home in Gaza.
Early in her life, Rachel's literary abilities shine through her poetry as she expresses her delight in nature and small creatures that cross her path. At eleven, on the death of her grandfather, she remarks her own selfishness as she sleeps while others are grieving. She says, "I have already grown bored of being sad and I am ready to go back to being normal." How wise she is to identify that universal feeling.
Many of Rachel's musings reflect her attitude toward death. At fourteen, she says, "Death smells like homemade applesauce as it cooks on the stove." At eighteen, "If I die today,...you must burn the papers under my bed...to charred leaves of ash...You must silence my dead voice...so it will not embarrass my memory." Her journals definitely reflect her inner thoughts, conflicts, and behaviors that might be embarrassing, and I wonder whether she would have wanted them published.
A trip to Russia became a turning point for Rachel. A girl who lived a sheltered, privileged life, she returned from her journey a woman with a mission, awakened by "the initial disappointment in discovering that my government really did lie to me about the Russians, and in the massive absence of justice in the world, and again...in discovering my participation in the subjugation of other people." This experience led her to become an activist during her college years and then took her to Israel to support the Palestinians as they suffered through repeated US-backed Israeli attacks on their families and homes.
Because of the intensely personal nature of the writings, it was difficult at times to read the revelations in these pages--the self-deprecation, the self-destructive behaviors, the lists of self-improvement tasks--and I felt uncomfortable looking into the private thoughts of someone who didn't sound as if she would like me to read them. I also felt that the pace of the book was slow and the final outcome depressing. But it comes together at the end, when Rachel writes long emails to her family and friends outlining her political convictions and showing her journalistic potential. Her life abruptly ended just three weeks short of her twenty-fifth birthday.
by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
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35 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rachel, America's Conscience, March 4, 2008
Rachel Corrie represents the best of America. As a young woman, her understanding and writing on issues of injustice and oppression were prescient. If only most Americans could understand the oppression of the Palestinian people as Rachel did, perhaps the American funded illegal Israeli military occupation of Palestine would end. Many internationals working for peace have been murdered in occupied Palestine -- Rachel was the first American. Because of her compassion and wonderful writing, Rachel will be remembered forever as a peacemaker. "My Name is Rachel Corrie," the reading of her writings, has seen sold out performances in London and is now playing in venues in the United States. It will soon be performed in Israel. Bravo, Rachel!!!
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