Customer Reviews

Ocean Star: A Memoir

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4 star:		(1)
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i loved this book...I read the prologe and couldnt put it down..its a true story of a young girl and all she had to overcome to put her life back to have meaning.....beautiful story about how to forgive

WOW! My book came yesterday~ I didnt put it down till the last page. I just wanted to hug you. Italian women are the strongest of all species (as my 98 yr. old Nonna Rose says) but you have a unique & amazing spirit and gusto, nothing will stop you from moving forward in a positive light. Just your being alive and raising a healthy , happy family is living proof.

I have 3 starfish on my mantle which represent to me my 3 teenagers, thru divorce & loss, their injured parts have also become regrown and reborn.

After reading Ocean Star I will hug my kids a little longer everynight and thank my parents and grandmother for always being there for me and my kids.

You have changed my thoughts on life and family forever.
I have a gold dolphin ring with 2 dolphins intertwined that i wear and now i look at it with different meaning.

Christina, may you continue to be blessed and to pass your gift of Ocean Star onto others.

With every good wish~
Amy Chaiken

This is one of the best books I have ever read. This is inspiring, truly inspiring.

Christina DiMari's OCEAN STAR, a memoir of overcoming a dark childhood of violence, abuse and substance addictions to find faith, love and the creative life, offers hope and encouragement to anyone who has faced seemingly insurmountable challenges.

DiMari was raised in an Italian family in California that loosely belonged to the Catholic church, but didn't practice faith at home. "I had always believed in God, but I really didn't understand how believing in him made all that much difference to us while we lived on earth," she writes. "...We simply didn't really know how believing in him could make our life any different in the day-to-day stuff."

Regularly beaten by her mother, who was otherwise mostly absent, DiMari grew up feeling she was her father's favorite. Yet, as the violence between mom and dad escalated, her parents separated and she lost touch with her father. Life at home was unbearable. Over the years, DiMari estimates she ran away more than 100 times.

"Was I fooling myself?" she writes. "Was I really bad and not worth anything? Would it have been better if I'd never been born? Did my life matter to anyone?"

She regularly smoked pot, dabbling in LSD and other drugs, shoplifted clothes, hung out with the hippies in Haight Asbury, and listened to The Grateful Dead. Pods of dolphins appear in various places throughout the memoir, symbolizing DiMari's strong friendships with others and as a symbol of hope. Her friends became her dolphin pod, with a trademark saying, "Life's a trip! Enjoy the ride."

Despite DiMari's poor performance in school, one determined high school counselor helped her get her high school diploma and pointed her toward college. It was there that she grew weary of her choices and began looking for deeper meaning. "I was tired of living my life with no direction or purpose. There had to be more." Through a loving pastor and a fellow student at the college, she decided to make Christ the center of her life.

Changes followed. DiMari found herself drawn to young children in the Philippines and got involved in mission work. Eventually, she met and married Michael, a concert violinist, and had two sons. As her faith grew stronger, however, she realized she had to revisit the dark places in her childhood. She also realized she had to come to grips with her relationship with her father and mother. As DiMari forced herself to explore the past, she uncovered some terrible secrets that shed light on her dysfunctional family.

The starfish on the cover is appropriate; it's a symbol woven throughout, which DiMari uses as an example of how broken things (such as a starfish losing an arm) can heal and become whole. They are saved, she says, when they cling to the "rock." This is not literal nonfiction for sticklers about the genre; rather, it's a creative retelling of one woman's story. Some liberties have been taken, such as using recreated dialogue extensively throughout; these are acknowledged at the beginning of the book.

DiMari crafts a motivational card and gift line, and hosts "Designed to Shine" workshops on the beaches of California where young girls are encouraged to dream big and become the women God designed them to be. "If I have learned anything at all, it's this: The journey is not always easy, but if you are willing to surrender the dreams that you hold in your heart and let God replace them with the dreams he has for you in his...and never, ever, ever give up, your star will eventually SHINE the way it was designed to." This is an inspiring book for older teens and adults who have overcome difficult experiences and are looking for hope.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at phrelanzer@aol.com

Ocean Star will open the eyes of PARENTS and reemphasize the importance of kind, encouraging, loving words to their children.It will make every CHILD learn that there is a way out, that they don't have to make bad choices to make themselves feel better, and that it is not their fault. It will let every ADULT who has been physicall, mentally, or sexually abused by family members learn how to process that life to be able to move on and realize the undying importance of not repeating past behaviors. It will let every FRIEND realize the importance they have in each others lives. And for those of you who were lucky enough to be born into a family with good, loving parents, you can learn how to be a light to those children who only see the darkness. You will learn how to teach those children how to see the good in themselves, how to teach them it is not their faullt, and how to extend your hand so they have something to hold onto while they ride the storm. You can learn how to be a pearl to someone who needs you.

I work in a Christian bookstore and get to review many new books. I was reveiwing new books from Tyndale and came across "Ocean Star". After reading just a few of the reviews, I was intrigued by whom had endorsed the book and given it impressive reviews.

I read the prologue and was so taken by the first page, I was compelled to purchase and read the book. I actually purchased it for my girlfriend, but once I got into the book, I could not put the book down until I was finished.

Christina is a gifted author, able to bring you into her story of abuse, escape and victory over such a horrific past in such a way that you will experience each moment of fear, pain, anguish along with the emotions of joy, awareness of the presence of God and how he directs us in our lives. Bring plenty of Kleenex, you'll need it.

I was emotional for weeks after reading her book and even now, when I try to explain her book to others it hits pretty close to home.

You don't have to have grown up in an abusive home to appreciate this book. If ever anyone has spoken harshly to you, not respected your boundaries, or lied to you, you will find healing within the pages of this book. You cannot read her book and ever be the same. As Daize Shayne says, "This book will change your life forever and leave you craving to live life to the fullest!" I agree wholeheartedly with her.

Thank you Christina for having the courage to share your story and writing a powerful book that will change the lives of all who read it.

An amazing, true story of heartache turned into hope, tragedy into triumph and brokenness into healing. A must read for anyone who has been bruised by life or who's searching for fulfillment and purpose, or for a serious page-turner. A story of adventure, encouragement, sadness and inspiration this is the story of a life that will forever change you and leave a beautiful mark on your heart. Christina DiMari is a pillar of strength, a light for everyone in the midst of life's storms.

I just finished this amazing book and would highly recommend it to everyone who is a mom, has a mom or wants to become a mom. This book made me so thankful to have had a great mom and challenges me to become the very best mom ever. I read the book myself and then bought one for everyone I know. It is a true story about how to navigate through life with a real message of encouragement and hope.

I read this in ONE day! Its so well written. Christina had me within the first paragraph... I had to read her story. Its a story of courage, as the author takes you back into her childhood and along her journey of faith with the God that heals her broken life; giving her an incredible message of healing to all the other broken ocean stars. This book will be life-changing... you MUST read it.

I could not put this book down. It is a beautiful story about a girl who found strength and determination against the odds.