Whether describing her husband's near-fatal motorcycle accident and recovery from a brain injury, or her bare-ankled encounter with a rattlesnake, Barbara's words rise off the page. This heartfelt memoir, full of humor and insight, depicts a life charged with uncertainties and fears, bravery and joy, and what it's like to be a writer and more, what it's like to be human.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic,
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This review is from: What I Thought I Knew (Paperback)
I've been a big fan of Barbara's for a long time. Her articles for Science of Mind Magazine are always thought provoking and very insightful. What delights me about this book is her ability to talk so honestly about love, loss, fear and courage. From the opening short story about her father's death when she was a teenager to the closing story of facing her fears after her husband's motorcycle wreck, she hooks you.
She is a writer's writer. Her words are eloquent, honest and filled to the brim with her own truths. There is are passages that can make you laugh out loud "fetus man" comes to mind. The candor with which she shares the terror and courage in leaving corporate america to start her own free lance career is nothing short of brilliant writing. ("Soon co-workers and executives told me the company had never had a better written employee news magazine. But after four years, my idea of hell was writing that magazine for all eternity. Corporate communications was confining, relentlessly one-sided, and instead of following my passion, I now was flogging it to death, one press release, one shareholder brochure at a time.") She captures something unique, the feelings, the fears and the part of life that so many writers dare not share. They are too personal or private or guarded. We are fortunate that Stahura has agreed to share, for in her sharing we find strength, we all get a little stronger, a little braver, a little more real. "Following the Call" Page 28 "Whether it's serving God or writing essays, building boats or raising children, every call arises from passion. Suprisingly, I've found this passion to be nutured by many unexpected sources: a career that does not fit, feeling so stuck you can move only if you learn to fly, people who make you crazy, situations that hurt so much you want to die. The key is taking the time and finding the strength to listen to what these things are telling you." From What I Thought I Knew
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Close your eyes, Listen!,
By
This review is from: What I Thought I Knew (Paperback)
Close your eyes. Listen!
... It would have been great if you heard a train and better yet if you could have felt its power. (This will make sense after you read this book) If not, did you hear your heart? No, no, not its beat, but its ability to love, its capacity to heal, its desire for tranquility. Couldn't "hear" anything? Then I recommend you read: What I Thought I Knew. Stahura's essays are for those looking for that hard to find inner self where one learns that you may have to let go in order to possess; that Faith can't be taught in Church; and, that love really can overcome all. -- Charlie Redner
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What I Think I Have Learned,
By
This review is from: What I Thought I Knew (Paperback)
The "Personal Essay" is a tricky genre. How does documentation of one person's life make the connective leap to those outside the circle of that writer's individual experience? Each essay penned by Barbara Stahura in "What I Thought I Knew" finds root in our basic fears, our emotional struggles, and subsequently touches a universal nerve. Unlike other "inspirational" publications, Stahura's revelations follow the writer's maxim of "SHOW, don't TELL". She IS a truth teller--even when that truth is uncomplimentary. Stahura unwraps each process of personal growth and shows, by example, a path to being that Best Person we each aspire to. What I learned from Barbara's book is that a critical step to being whole is to be bravely honest, first, with myself.
I would recommend "What I Thought I Knew" to anyone who is--or has--struggled with self-empowerment, with self-doubt, or with the complicated maneuverings of this life's journey. And isn't that all of us?
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