Chatbug Karen

Have you ever read a book that made you feel something? Has a book changed how you look at the world?

I finished reading Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi and I cannot stop thinking about the story. It touched me because it is a true story. I was afraid to read this book because I didn’t want to read gory details about abuse. It was not that way at all. In fact, it is amazing how Malika tells the story without added melodrama. What I read was a true account of injustice and how a family survived. It is an amazing book.

The author, Malika, is the eldest daughter of a Moroccan general. Malika was taken in by the King of Morocco as a playmate for his daughter. Thus, she was raised as royalty with all the priviledges. She had anything she wanted and lived in a beautiful palace that was filled with glass tile, fountains, riding stables and more.

As the head of the country’s military and security forces, as well as the King’s closest aide, Malika’s father was the second most powerful man in Morocco. In 1972, her father was killed for his role in a plot to assassinate the King. As a result, his wife and 5 children, of whom the youngest was three years of age, were imprisoned in a penal colony. Malika’s ties to the royal family served to make matters worse when they were imprisoned in living conditions worse than an animal would be forced to endure.

Malika relates how her family was eventually reduced to the point that they eagerly ate mouse droppings to supplement their meager food rations. To attract the King’s attention to their plight, at one time they went on a hunger strike, and at another time they sent him a petition signed in their own blood. The only effect their pleas had was a worsening of their living conditions.

Those conditions were at their worst during the ten years they spent at the Bir-Jid prisons. Split into groups so they could fit into four adjoining cells, the nine members of the Oufkir clan were isolated in those cells and not allowed to see anyone in the other cells for eight and a half years. Although they could talk with one another through the walls, they were prohibited from having books, magazines, letters, visitors, or anything else from the outside world that might comfort them or provide them with hope. However, their jailers did nothing to prevent their torment by periodic infestations of swallows, mosquitoes, cockroaches, fleas, mice, scorpions, rats and crickets.

Malika Oufkir’s ordeal is disturbingly relevant for us all. You think this could never happen in today’s world? It can and still happens even in the United States. I appreciate the education I received from this story.

I have been having a streak of good luck. I received a terrific book in the mail this week that I cannot wait to read! I forgot that I entered a contest on Val’s blog, Mom Knows It All, and was pleasantly reminded and surprised to open my mail and see this neat book. I was just over at her blog to check out her new rv. Her family recently purchased a new camper. Woo hoo! Not that I am into camping any longer. I like my bed made for me these days. LOL

Thanks so much Val! I am looking forward to reading this book. Amazon says it is a tribute book. “Stories by Mothers and Sons, in Appreciation of Each Other.” I’m sure I will be crying while reading especially since Greg is getting married in a few weeks and will be starting a new life with my wonderful new daughter in-law. Great timing!

Once I get comfortable and settled in for the evening, I have trouble getting much done. When it is cold outside, I find I only want to curl up in a comfortable quilt and read or watch tv. I need to exercise.

Do you have trouble motivating yourself to exercise? I recommend trying different exercise videos to get yourself motivated. When you use the same program all the time, it becomes stale. Use one of the new Viewsonic monitors and you will love the vivid and crisp picture.

I love to read in the winter. I just finished reading One Fifth Avenue and am in search of another good book. Do you have any recommendations?

I heard a few people say that the daylight savings change caused them to sleep in this morning. The time change was not my problem. I stayed up into the wee hours reading. I am so engrossed in a book and had problems making myself put it down and get some sleep. I am reading One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. Candace is the author of other popular books that include Sex In the City and Lipstick Jungle. Those big names ought to tell you why I had trouble closing the book last night.

I am caught up in the story line that involves power and money. It also has romance although the type of romance in the book is contrary to any I would want involvement in. Romance in the big city seems to be contrived and manipulative. I find myself rooting for the underdog at the moment although, who knows after I turn the page, who I will be cheering on next. This book has so many twists and turns that I have even been shocked. Even Sam, the youngest character is not beyond reproach. He caused a big ruckus to the tune of a loss of $12 million dollars! You have to read this book. It fits perfectly in our country’s time of economic woes where hedge funds are being questioned and the rich are looked upon as sinister. Get comfy when you start this book. You will not want to put it down!

I just now have begun to read a book that my daughter gave me for Christmas a few years ago. It is an odd book. The title, Stiff, should tell you something. It is about cadavers. Yep, a story about dead bodies. The author, Mary Roach, offers witty, albeit irreverent humor as she tells how cadavers are used in medical experimentation to applications in transportation safety research. She describes how “beating-heart” cadavers are used in organ transplants. I read when I go to bed and so I hope I don’t have nightmares. It has been interesting so far but I am only on chapter two. I read information at Amazon that said that this book is enlightening if you are interested in find out what really happens to a body that is donated to the scientific community. I have a question. When eyes are donated to a living person, is that person able to see through those eyes? I hope someone knows the answer to that question.

Sidney Poitier has written a book. Soon after the birth of his first great grandchild, he began thinking about how he would not be around when she was an adult. Poitier was reaching the age of 80 back in 2005. He decided he needed to record the things that were important to him. His book, “Life Beyond Measure, Letters to My Great-Granddaughter,” is the compilation of letters that cover things he has felt and learned and also things he doesn’t understand.

Poitier was in movies during the unrest of the 1960′s and has experienced so much that is important to our history. I am anxious to read his new book.