Customer Reviews

Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey through Heartache to Activism

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I bought this book in the store after picking it up and reading the front and back cover. When I finished it, I had to look up the reviews to satisfy my curiosity. Before I did that, I predicted 2.5 stars. I figured half the people can relate to what this poor mother had to endure (I am one of those) and the other half cannot relate and will therefore be enraged by her strong points of view. It's human nature. I could spend hours and pages commenting on the comments but I am not going to do that.

I believe what Cindy wrote came from her heart. I believe that whether you agree with her viewpoints or not, there is so much value in her courage to expose the rawness of the human condition. If you believe in the military and the U.S. and its government, then let's rejoice in Cindy for asserting her first ammendment rights as she so bravely has done. And she did it at the risk of receiving death threats and further trauma to her family from those who cannot peacefully oppose her views but want to do so violently. Violence will never solve this world's or this country's problems. Has it ever? The definition of insanity is to continue to do what you've always done and expect a different result.

Life is a progression of experiences and our wisdom comes at various milestones of it. I can easily see how some people would be enraged by what Cindy discusses. Some people cannot relate and therefore, will judge her harshly. And for some, they need to believe death this way is for an honorable cause because denial is a coping mechanism that keeps the human mind from going insane.

Ask yourself this question: If the president wanted to send my son to Iraq or Afghanistan, would I be grateful to have such an honorable mission bestowed upon my son? If you can answer yes, then by all means encourage your sons to go. That way, there will never be a shortage and my boys will stay home. And they will not have to endure the lies and deceit fed to them by individuals who can't admit they were lied to because their egos are too big to admit they were fooled. Instead, they will pass the lies on and believe them. It makes it so much simpler that way.

I wish I could bring Cindy's son back for her. I know she does too. I wept for him and Cindy so many times throughout this book that I almost couldn't see the words on the page at times. God bless you and your family, Cindy, and I hope I get to meet you someday. I have two sons, 9 and 15. And they will have to kill me before I let them join a cause to die so someone else can get rich and prosper as quickly and as easily as possible, and then walk off a free criminal. It is a disgusting and despicable, corruption-filled bureaucracy. And anyone who wants to negate otherwise hasn't lived long enough yet to feel it personally. Once you do, you'll get it.

Peace Mom is a powerful first hand account of one mother's struggle to find truth amidst violence and anger. Cindy Sheehan should be commended for her honesty and fiery energy that has arisen from her own personal tragedy; however, as a reader I was often annoyed and distracted by her poor grammar throughout her autobiography. At times, it seemed as if Sheehan wanted to fit her entire story onto one page. Too often, she digressed in the middle of a paragraph and then caught herself by saying, "more on that in the next chapter." She also decided to leave out much of her personal history or wrote it off as "abusive." This ambiguity left me wanting to know more about her past, so that I could better understand her metamorphosis into the "Peace Mom." Despite these misgivings, I felt that her palpable, simple writing was an effective way to describe her emotional state at crucial moments such as the day her son died, or the day she began Camp Casey.

The chapter describing when she learned of her son's death was extremely poignant, but her pain was overshadowed by her anger toward the Bush administration. Her brash writing will obviously draw harsh criticism from the right and won't turn any hearts of those who are pro-Bush because of the offensive language she used to describe them. Also, I doubt this book will make any moderates still on the fence about Iraq (if any still exist) decide to become anti-war since she comes off as a bit manipulative and self-centered. This fact alone makes me wonder how many more people she would truly be able to reach and affect if she employed a bit more grace and tact.
It is unfair to call Sheehan a puppet or someone trying to take advantage of her son's death because by simply reading about the impact her son's death had on her life, a reader will see that she truly is a mother who cared deeply for her son. This book, although not Pulitzer Prize worthy by any means, reminds Americans that it is our right to protest and question our government's decisions.

I love Mrs Sheehan's book. She is very thoughtful and intelligent. She has done a good job of teaching herself about the realities of U.S. and world politics. Those people who gave this book a one star review most likely never read the booka and they should try getting their information elsewhere then Fox News.

This book should be listed in the fantasy section. I was given this book; I would never buy it, and am glad I didn't. All this crying and heartache from a women that has turned her back on here present family, giving up custody of her child, and she gave up custody of the son she morns so much? She has not even put a grave stone on his grave and she can get it for free! Cindy and her book need to go away like a bad headache.

Just another example of this woman attempting to make a buck from her sons death. Reminds me of some of the widows from 9/11. It's a shame she is so controlled by other people.
Don't purchase this it will be a waste of time.
I am so over this crazy woman.

If someone who calls herself a "pitbull with lipstick" thinks she has what it takes to be VP as she sends her son off to war in a "just cause" condemned by two Popes now, let's propose this far more worthy candidate.

Let's make Cindy Sheehan our VP, and our Number One Mom.

Four years ago she stood up courageously for peace, justice for her son and others, and for the compassionate truth. For this motherly witness and truly religious testimony, she was vilified in the US press and the target of GOP hate speech, slander and lies. And now she is largely forgotten.

Now, more than ever, we need to read her once more, and call for her witness.

Peace Mom, this book is the best place for any Roman Catholic, any Christian, any believer, any voter, any person, to start. Then please read her several other works, including Not One More Mother's Child, as well as The Vigil: 26 Days In Crawford, Texas (All Access) and Dear President Bush (Iraq War).

This book, Peace Mom, I find deeply moving, nearly too painful to read, especially in the way we forget Casey, and his mother Cindy, and his thousands of slain companions, and their moms too. In this book Cindy generously, compellingly, truly, nourishingly gives, like the self-sacrificing Pelican mother of myth, of the depths of her own soul for our survivaql, life, illumination and our imperative moral guidance on the road to peace and understanding, cooperation and progress, as God wants.

God does not want war. God does not want mothers to bury their children. God wants Peace Moms, Peace Pops, and children who live in peace. Read this book. Weep, as I have done. Remember. Repent. And work, and vote, hard, now, for peace.

This book isn't about Sheehan's dead son, she doesn't give a rip about him. This is about her hatred for America and her total stupidity about Iraq or anything else in the middle east. She's a pawn for various left-wing whack jobs and is probably too ignorant to even know it. The poor old woman is ill.

Cindy Sheehan's story is emotional and brings to vivid realization the affects of war unlike a third party report can. She relates well to the reader the great pain of losing a child in a manner so many people call `noble'. Peace Mom also excellently explains her motivation for so passionately engaging in activism and is an inspiring story that demonstrates the ability of one person, with a cause and persistent dedication, to facilitate change nonviolently.

However, the book does have some shortcomings. Peace Mom's emotional and inspiring narrative was intermittently interrupted by editorials and conspiracy theories about George Bush and the Republican Party. These passages sometimes detracted from Sheehan's touching and remarkable tale, and will make the more conservative reader less likely to see the value of her story. Further, Sheehan's wording sometimes included profanity or cheap insults, which made her logical reasoning seem less intelligent. While some of these claims and criticisms of conservatives are legitimate and certainly support Sheehan's motivation for her current work, they would have added more if used less frequently.

Overall, Peace Mom is a valuable narrative. The story does not necessarily make me a fan of Cindy Sheehan. I think she could have been significantly more effective if she emphasized her personal story and pacifist beliefs more than insulting conservative America. Nevertheless, I gained respect for her courage and persistence and saw that it is truly possible to make nonviolent change in spite of adversaries, if one is willing to make sacrifices. Peace Mom is well worth the read.

This left wing media puppet is one of the most disgusting human beings in human life..
The son she whose death she mourns so much, she gave up before he was four.
She hasn't even found the time to place a headstone for his grave.
She embraces dictators like Chavez of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba...Her book is a series of empty platatudes..her hatred of America is so deep..I think it would be wonderful if some Muslim country would adopt her so she could really see what oppression is...But the media gives her the spotlight while not giving a voice to the Gold Star mothers who are proud of their sons...
Great book if you have insomina..Put you to sleep as soon as you get over a well deserved case of disgust.Jack Schlatter

Cindy is a hero. She stood up to the most corrupt president in U.S. history.
I keep a copy of her book next to my copy of the Bill of Rights. I can see the day when people will recognize Cindy Sheehan as a great American and Bush as a national shame.