Customer Reviews

Still Waters

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I usually never read sequels, even in biographies. They never seem to measure up to the first book. But this is definitely not the case in "Still Waters".

Jennifer Lauck picks up right where she left off in "Blackbird". From there, she and her brother are kept apart and sent from family member to family member. Mostly following her heart, Jennifer grows up and slowly gets passed her childhood.

With a life story left unfinished in "Blackbird", Lauck once again has opened her heart and her history to share her story. What once left us in heartbreak now teaches us that following your heart and working through life, anyone can survive. If you read "Blackbird", you will not want to miss "Still Waters".

Those who read Lauck's first memoir, Blackbird, will expect to find a continuation in Still Waters of the upbeat note on which that first book ended. They would be wrong. Life did NOT go well for Jennifer Lauck when she was picked up at the bus station by her grandfather and left eventually at the 'safe haven' of her aunt and uncle's home. Although by the conclusion of Still Waters, we are asked to believe Lauck, with the help of New Age spirituality, has at last made peace with her tragic past, one can't help believing that it wasn't the power of hope that carried her to a relatively triumphant adulthood: it was the power of rage.

This is a fantastic book, relates the undertones of Jennifer's feelings very strongly. Just less than halfway through the book, I made a decision to be a one hundred percent good Dad, This is how much Jennifer has effected me, helped me and will help my children. I read the [Amazon.com] rules to writing reviews and it states we should recommend similar items, I want to recommend another Oregon writer that has a super book called SB 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox

I will be honest ~~ this book did not move me to tears like "Blackbird" did ~~ but it did make me angry ~~ really angry and disgusted with human beings, especially those who are in charge of taking care of the children who need them. I was so relieved when I read the ending of "Blackbird" that Jennifer was going to be rescued by her father's family (though I was really confused as to why Aunt Georgia and Uncle Charles didn't pick her up at the bus stop since they were the ones that went looking for the Lauck kids in L.A.). Then I picked this book up, the sequel to "Blackbird" and finished it in two days.

This is a fast paced book ~~ it skims a lot of Jennifer's growing up years but it dealt with her anger and frustrations. She was separated from her brother, Bryan, as he "chose" to live with Uncle Leonard and Aunt Sylvia. Jennifer didn't get to choose ~~ after spending several weeks with her grandparents, her father's parents, (a few weeks where she began her healing process and started to feel safe) she was sent to live with Peggy and Dick, her father's youngest sister and husband. From the very beginning, Dick made her feel like that she was never welcomed. Peggy was inconsistent with her behavior and gradually became meaner to her over the years, in spite of the fact that she loved Jennifer's mother and was one of her closest friends. Jennifer grew up in various places in the Northwest, confused, lonely and gradually getting angrier. Shuffled among different relatives, enduring sexual abuse, emotional abuse, basically being her aunt and uncle's (though they eventually adopted her) housekeeper/cook and on and on. The dishonesty of her relatives boils me ~~ and no wonder why Jennifer was so angry and bitter by the time she made her escape at the age of 18.

Then her brother committed suicide. Bryan was never close to Jennifer and she mistakenly thought he had the "better" life since he was an all A student, and so handsome. When Jennifer finally went on a journey to discover peace and the truth of what happened to her family and how it impacted her, she discovered so much more about Bryan that the reader ends up grieving for him too. By the end of the book, Jennifer has faced her demons and rediscovered the youth she missed out on by enjoying her son's life. She was able to find peace again.

This book is about surviving. This book is about finding peace in the worst that life can offer you. This book is an inspiration to all people ~~ regardless of how they live their lives. This book is just a wonderful sequel to the first one and for once, it shows that someone can have a happy ending in spite of it all. It shows how some people can survive neglect and abuse and how some people can't. It shows the power of forgiveness and the power of letting go.

This is one that I will definitely recommend to my book club to read ~~ it provides so much fodder for conversation just by reading these alone! It is not easy reading but sometimes, readers just need to be reminded that life isn't always easy and reading about someone else's struggles can affirm our sense of survival. At least Jennifer's story did.

7-10-07

I have "read" both Blackbird and Still Waters, but perhaps in a non-traditional way by listening as I endure my excrutiating drive to and from work throughout the week.

Blackbird moved me in ways no book I have read has done. Is that because I was listening to the author's voice - the person to whom these atrocities had been inflicted on was actually telling me about them, or would my reaction have been the same, had I read the accounts in the traditional "reading" method.
Personally, I think the audio rendition has had a more positive impact and let me explain. The book is written entirely from the perspective of the author's participation and some of the repetative phrases, such as "I say", when recounting conversation, I know would have driven me nuts if I were reading, but were totally natural in the "listening" version of reading. Does this make any sense?

Bottom line, Blackbird and Still Waters are the best books I've had the pleasure of reading in a very long time! I was totally engrossed in the story, involved with Jennifer, Bryan and their challenges in life, and I wish Jennifer all the best in everything to come in her life. She presents a role model for anyone who's had difficulties in their life - inspiration to uncover what the truth is, even after years of living perceived truth.

Still Water is a quick, easy read like Blackbird. Blackbird is the better of the two books, although I couldn't wait to read the sequel. The lesson of Blackbird for me was the power of a dying mother's love from which Jennifer's was able to draw strength to carry her through horrible circumstances. The lesson of the Still Water is the real damage of lies, no matter how innocuous they may have seemed at the time. Both books made me cry, although the first part of Still Water was reasonably uneventful. Jennifer managed to have quite a normal adolescence, after her tragic first years. The book picked up during the last 150 pages, as many mysteries become unravelled. Many years of her life are not covered, because the ability to face the past only came when she was ready for it. There is a powerful zinger at the end -- which gives the book its true meaning. The ending leaves hope for Jennifer to continue the healing process and forgive her adoptive parents who were well meaning, but flawed people like most of us.

I read Blackbird, the first book by Jennifer Lauck, and I loved it. It was such a powerful story, written through the eyes of Jennifer as a child. It was heartbreaking, and I couldn't wait to read the sequel, which I bought as soon as I could. I almost didn't want to continue after the first chapter, I didn't think I could take anymore of what this child had to endure, but I perservered, and I'm glad I did, it was a wonderful book. Jennifer Lauck found love and peace, and I'm happy that she did. The only problem I had with the book is that I am left with so much anger towards the other people in Jennifer's family, and she doesn't seem to be. I think it is very normal for children who have lost parents to feel anger or a sense of abandonment, and after all that Jennifer went through, I think she must have. Perhaps she didn't, and that was what helped her cope, having the image of her loving parents somewhere inside her. But where is the rage against Deb, who's lie caused the separation of Jenny and Bryan which wreaked so much havoc in their lives? I think a large part of the book was about family secrets and the lack of honesty from the aunts, uncles, grandparents and parents and how it affected the lives of Jenny and Bryan. Did Jennifer feel this rage or anger toward these people? She doesn't tell us. What were their reactions to the first book? I feel like I know much of the story, but not enough for my own sense of closure.

This is a heartwrenching and beautiful memoir by Jennifer Lauck. This is a sequel to her bestseller "Black Bird". This book tells the true story of Jennifer Lauck, a young woman who has been through so much--and lives to tell about it. She is a phenomenal woman, and a talented writer. Jennifer tells her story in an open and honest way, focusing on her feelings and her growth during a tumultuos childhood. She is lost, and then found. She is loved, lost, abandoned, hated, moved from place to place, and abused--yet she still shines. This book will speak directly to your soul, leaving you reflecting and appreciating your own life, as well as falling in love with the author. I highly recommend this book!

All I can say is, Wow. I picked up Lauck's first book, "Blackbird" at the library and loved it. So right after I finished it I bought Still Waters. I read it in about 2 days.

A lot happens in her life. A lot happens in many of our lives. But the way Lauck sees things that go on in her life and in the world, are special. Her books opened my mind and my heart.

Saying this is a memoir about a dysfunctional family does not do this book justice. Yes, her family is dysfunctional, but her attitude and experiences and how she draws these into her world view, are all woven through her book in a way that I wanted it to never end.

Another thing, many sequels re-hash much of what happened in the first book. And for those of us who have read the first book, it's a bore to read about all this re-hashing. "Still Waters" does not do this. I really appreciated the fluidity with which Jennifer Lauck wrote her sequel.

I look forward to more from this gifted writer.

Just finished reading this, and I've got to say Lauck unblinkingly shares her life, and shows what an autobiography can be. I don't usually read autobiographies, but something about Lauck's story grabbed me. She shows true insight into herself and others. Occasionally I felt she (or her younger self) missed some possible insight, but that only served to emphasize that she reveals herself so clearly as to give readers a chance to truly know her, and thus reach their own conclusions. Is this great literature? No. Is this a great story? Absolutely. And that is what most readers want. I can hardly wait to "go back in time" and read "Blackbird" (her story of her younger life).