i like books, too!!!

 Ackerman's sentences are great in themselves.  But her books have so much energy and excitement that they beg the question why people haven't bothered to write them before now.  There are five chapters: one devoted to a sense.  The ideas are provocative and haunting.  It's a fun house of interesting facts and new ideas.

The idea that keeps nibbling at me comes from the touch chapter.  The idea: pain is contextual.  She uses the example of getting legs waxed.  In the context of the salon, it's reasonable pain.  But take the scenario into a prison cell in lieu of a spa and substitute the aesthetician with a Nazi, and you have an extremely different scenario.  There's an emotional element to physical pain as well as choice.  It's made me think about the power of attitude.  I keep playing with the idea.  The weight-training coaches in college always made us scream "I FEEL GREAT" while we did ab work.  It made me angry because I thought it was a lie.  But, now I concede their point.  There's a degree we can choose how pain registers with us.  I just read about this in a Ravi Zacharias book on overcoming emotions in a spiritual realm (wow, I made it sound all new age, but it's not).

Another new idea: humans don't have a vocabulary for smell.  It's never occurred to me, but I can't prove her wrong.

I bought this book at a Goodwill.  God's providence, yo.  I've already cried twice.  One with the black scientist who grew up in the projects and earned her PhD at MIT; she speaks of God's grace in her life.  And, the story of the pastor made me bawl; its brutal.  Henri Nouwen told her she was a wounded healer (and she is).

It's very reassuring and inspiring.  CSL wrote: "We read in order to know we're not alone."  This book proves him right... again. I think I may try to buy these for graduation presents in the future... or if a friend is struggling within her career path.  I discussed it with the chemistry teacher turned pharmacist.  People are fascinating.  Passion is inspiring... even if I'm a passion vampire.