Customer Reviews

Stolen Moments

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I put too much faith in the reviews that had been written about this book. I wish there had been a rating for the intelligence quotient of this novel. The misspelled words and the bad punctuation were enough signals for me to put the book down and admit I'd made a bad selection. The sappy story was too predictable. The medical situation was factual and handled well. Thank goodness for that.

I love all books but I must admit this was the worst book I have read in a long time. Talk about predictable! It was sort of like being at the scene of an accident...knowing I should look away but also experiencing the need to know what in the world is going on. Boring...boring...boring.

As someone who has had a serious case of lupus for seventeen years, I was appalled to read "Stolen Moments." I shudder to think what newly diagnosed lupus patients will get from this medically inaccurate book and how this book could set back the image of people with chronic illnesses. Over and over, lupus is referred to as a "death sentence" and her family doctor even gives Julie time estimates of how long she has to live. However, the kind Dr. Cole never sends her to a rheumatologist and doesn't seem to give her any state-of-the-art lupus treatment. Julie is portrayed as a heroine for refusing what little treatment is offered.

Admittedly, the trite plot is served by having a heroine who doesn't go through what real lupus patients go through: steroids, hospitalizations for IV chemotherapy, and the constant ups and downs that keep us going. Then the author would have to develop some complex characters: Julie would have significant limitations in her lifestyle but would have to get some backbone and make a choice between her husband and her lover, because she would most likely be around for a while. Better for Ms. Fisher to portray someone with lupus who romantically presses on, quaffing pain pills like breath mints and not consenting to go into the hospital until she is in end-stage renal failure, while her doctor offers up sympathy instead of prednisone. The only thing that salvages this book is that it is so poorly written that I could not waste my emotions getting caught up in the shallow, hackneyed narrative. The reviewer who likened this book to a car accident was right on target: I, too, wondered why I even cared to find out how it ended.

The only tears I did shed in connection with this book were when I read that a reviewer who describes herself as a head of a national lupus foundation says that she is recommending this book for people with lupus. When I have severe pericarditis and pleuritis, my chest pain makes it difficult to carry out daily activities--but I have been receiving treatment for my multi-organ lupus for years and years and continue to bounce back to a baseline. Julie in "Stolen Moments" is able to carry two bags of groceries in from the car at the same time that she has accepted that her chest pain means that she has only six months to live, so she won't go into the hospital because she might miss a week of classes. Most lupus patients could write a novel longer than "Stolen Moments" just listing activities that have had to been given up--but most of us also can enjoy life and expect more than a few months of life even when we have a flare that requires hospitalization. Julie is portrayed as courageous for disregarding her doctor's advice and postponing treatment because her death is portrayed as inevitable. Is this the kind of message that lupus foundations want to give to newly diagnosed patients?

I am not in denial about the seriousness of SLE. However, in the 21st century, thank God, lupus no longer has to be an automatic death sentence. Maybe Julie's lupus would have had the quick and fatal course it did even if she had received proper treatment and complied with it--but her lover, daughter, and grandson will never know, will they? Rather than recommending "Stolen Moments," the message I would like to have given to lupus-patient Julie would have been: (1) Ditch the caring but apparently ignorant family doctor and get to a good internist and a rheumatologist, (2) Stop being a martyr, and (3) Do realize how precious your time is and don't spend it reading utter trash.

As a writer and SLE patient, I was appalled at the portrayal, or lack thereof, that was given to the characters in this book. As for Ms. Fisher's writing, her characters remind me of the paper they were recorded on, thin, non-dimensional, predictable, and some of the most uninteresting people I've ever read about. I was excited when I began reading the book, for I was hoping that Ms. Fisher would be able to portray her main character as a strong woman who lives life to the fullest while dealing with a chronic disease. Ms. Fisher failed to develop anything beyond the superficiality of the characters she wrote about.

As a 10 year sufferer of Lupus, I shudder to think what uninformed SLE patients would think after reading the "death sentence" view this book provided. Though there is currently no cure for lupus, a diagnosis of Lupus is no longer a `death sentence". All of the lupus patients I work with are under the care of a Board Certified Rheumatologist, something that was not even touched on by Ms. Fisher. All lupus patients know the ups and downs of this disease, and most faithfully follow the advice given by their physicians. I am always amazed when I hear of patients who are on only one prescription medication, as most that I know take 10 or more per day, and not just painkillers. Julie must have been a remarkable woman indeed, as she took only painkillers, could drag herself off her deathbed to be with the new love in her life and would risk everything supposedly dear to her so she could attend a class taught by an overbearing, callous, abusive professor.

We (lupus patients) have all given up things in our life due to our disease. Many are on disability, we all know the dangers of the sun, we all require much more sleep than Julie ever got, and not one patient I know would consider walking up 3 flights of stairs when an elevator is available. This book, however, leads the reader to believe that nothing has to be given up until death, and that the disease has a normal progression ultimately leading to an early death. Our local Lupus Chapter received this book in hopes that we would purchase additional copies and offer them to our membership. It took 3 separate reading attempts to make it through to the end, all the while, working hard to suppress my anger at the mis-information provided in the book, and continually looking for the passion in writing that the main character had, but Ms. Fisher lacks. I felt obligated to complete the reading as our chapter provides information to lupus patients, recommending only literature that we have personally read or literature that is provided by the National Lupus Organization. I can say with certainty that not only will we not recommend it, rather, if asked, we will state that it provides only negative, inaccurate, and damaging information.

I can't believe the five and four star reviews for this book. It's badly written, has no emotional nuance, the characters are like cardboard and the story is boring.

STOLEN MOMENTS IS BORING, UNBELIEVABLE, AND POORLY WRITTEN. IF YOU WANT TO READ A BOOK THAT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE HEART, READ THE PHONE BOOK. IT'S MORE INTERESTING THAN THIS SAPPY WASTE OF PAPER.

I bought this book on the basis of a review. This is one of the sappiest pieces of tripe I've ever read - it's just as bad as Message in a Bottle. The dialogue is badly written, the characters are cliches and the story, supposedly so heart-wrenching, is unbelievably banal. Reading this book was an utter waste of time, and I'll never pick up another book by this author.

Possibly the worst "book" I've ever read. Hard to believe it was ever published. It's virtually unreadable. Definitely not what it purports to be.

I started to read Stolen Moments as a favor to a friend of mine. She insisted I at least give it a try. I did! For the next day and a half I was burried in the book, I became one of the characters, and I had every emotion within me brought to life. I laughed and then I cried. Don Lipton reminded me of one of my past professors, and Julie is very much like myself. .It was exciting to see their relationship turn to love. So many books go to extreme measure to relate sexual encounter, but this was love in it's truest form, and ever so pure. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to be reminded how precious life is/ and how soon it can be gone. Great job, Ms Fisher, hope you have another book soon.

Let me start out by saying that I have tremendous respect for Barbara Fisher and her battle with Lupus; however, the book left me feeling dry and empty. The writing lacked depth, and the characters--except for Julie--were paper-thin. The plot of the book is excellent: Julie Hunter attempts to go back to college with little blessing from her pathetic husband, while fighting Lupus in the process. Professor Donald Lipton is a abrasive and callous creative writing teacher who chooses to verbally berate his students. Donald Lipton has a tragic past that has left him feeling somewhat less enthralled with love, life, and happiness until Julie crosses his path. Julie and Donald seemed destined for love and happiness until Julie becomes weak and beaten down with Lupus. They have little time to spend with each other, and must live an entire life in a few short weeks. The story could have been much more rewarding than it was; the potential was there.

I dove into this book wanting to be moved by this pure story of love, and the only thing that moved was the time that I wasted reading this empty book. The title is perfect, and after reading the book you will know what I mean. I wanted so much to like this book and even tried to make another attempt at reading it again, but it would have been painful. If you like love stories try THE NOTEBOOK, or MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. Unless you like the idea of having your moments stolen.