Heaven knows we never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of the earth, overlaying our hard hearts.

Beginning in the late 1970s, the US Centers for Disease Control began to receive reports that a worrying number of recent Laotian immigrants were dying in their sleep. They were almost all male, aged between their mid-20s and mid-40s, and most were from the persecuted Hmong ethnic group, who had fled Laos after the rise to power of the communist political movement Pathet Lao. For their loved ones, the only warning was the sound of them struggling for breath and, occasionally, a gasp, a moan, or a cry. By the time help arrived, however, they were already dead..." BOOK OF THE YEAR. It's the book we're all buying for our sisters and besties this Christmas. Fabulous i just realized that roughly 70% of the preconceived notions i had about this book are actually about oliver twist. oops. In Great Expectations, the true values are childhood, youth and heart. The heroes of the story are the young Pip, a true visionary, and still developing person, open, sensible, who is persecuted by soulless adults. Then the adolescent Pip and Herbert, imperfect but free, intact, playful, endowed with fantasy in a boring and frivolous world. Magwitch is also a positive figure, a man of heart, victim of false appearances and of social images, formidable and humble, bestial but pure, a vagabond of God, despised by men. [N 8] There is also Pip's affectionate friend Joe, the enemy of the lie. Finally, there are women like Biddy.As I looked along the clustered roofs, with Church towers and spires shooting into the unusually clear air, the sun rose up, and a veil seemed to be drawn from the river, and millions of sparkles burst out upon its waters. From me too, a veil seemed to be drawn, and I felt strong and well. [155] Magwitch's death, by John McLenan Indeed, Pip wouldn’t have learnt a thing. Through the correcting of his perceptions he learns the value of loyalty and simple human kindness. This changes him and he is, essentially, a much better person for it. He learns the errors of his ways, and how shameful and condescending his behaviour has been to those that hold him most dear, namely Joe. You can feel the pain in his narration as he tells the last parts of his story; it becomes clear that Pip could never forgive himself for his folly. He wishes forgiveness from those that love him that’s why he forgives Havisham, but I don’t think he fully deserves it. He is repentant, but the damage is done. Dibdin, Tom (4 March 2016). "Jo Clifford: 'When I write a script, I become the actor playing the character' ". The Stage. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018 . Retrieved 2 December 2018. The play [Eve], Clifford's life (both in the last decade as Jo and before that as John) and the changing emphasis from playwright to performer are inextricably linked. Things become interesting for Pip when is asked to be a play companion of Miss Havisham’s adopted daughter Estella. The girl is being trained to be the architect of Miss Havisham’s revenge...on all men. She is the brutal combination of spoiled, beautiful, and heartless. She wants Pip to fall in love with her to provide a training ground for exactly how to keep a man in love with her and at the same time treat him with the proper amount of disdain. Pip is not to know where these great expectations are coming from, but he assumes it is Miss Havisham as part of her demented plans for exacting revenge by using Estella to break his heart. He is willing to be the patsy for her plans because some part of him believes he can turn the tide of Estella’s heart if he can find one beating in her chest.

Of course, you can’t just think yourself thinner, happier or fitter, but using this book you can reframe many different facets of your life, and in so doing start real psychological, physiological and behavioural change. These easy-to-use skills will help you on your way to becoming the person you want to be, living the life you want to live. The book also includes a summary at the end of every chapter, titled "How to think about ____." Here's one: William A. Cohen (1993), "Manual Conduct in Great Expectations", ELH (English Literary History), 60, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, pp.217–259

i have been putting this book off for approx 10 years (my mom bought me a copy, for some reason, in my youth), but it is immediately more readable than i thought.