A Slender Thread : Rediscovering Hope at the Heart of Crisis [Signed & Inscribed]

Diane Ackerman

ISBN 10: 0679448772 / ISBN 13: 9780679448778

Published by Random House, 1997

About this Item

Signed by Diane Ackerman & inscribed to the bookseller. Bright, clean & tight 2nd printing, unread, in AS NEW condition. "Both a sensuous road map through depression, despair and loss of self, and a homage to the wonder, multiplicity and rejuvenating power of nature, this new book from the author of A Natural History of the Senses is, quite simply, wonderful. Ackerman has worked for years as a counselor at a suicide prevention and crisis center in her hometown in upstate New York. She describes her work as that of a 'sorrow ranger.' The slender thread of the title refers to the phone wires that reach invisibly between Ackerman and the frightened, hopeless, often desperate person at the other end and to the strength that keeps us going through the hard times. Her writing can charm ("summer is like a new philosophy in the air, and everyone has heard about it"), but it doesn't scant her own despair, making this her most personal book to date. So depressed she forces herself to cross-country ski on her local golf course, Ackerman is pulled back on track by the Canadian geese honking overhead. Thoughts and subjects move and trail into each other here, sometimes through anecdote, sometimes through historical passages, sometimes through densely layered or near stream-of-consciousness prose. From 'cutters' (self-mutilators) to the act of bathing, from captive lions to squirrels in her backyard, from a biking trip through the Finger Lakes to a dying Luna moth beside the road, Ackerman leads the reader on a respectful, deeply emotional, life-affirming journey."--Publishers Weekly. "In a narrative lush with her signature gift for metaphor and delight in the senses, Ackerman illuminates the bewildering workings of the resilient human psyche."--Booklist. "Diane Ackerman is the great dramatist and explorer--she probes, opens, takes off lids, peels back covers, tastes, sniffs. There is no limit to her curiosity, and she is constantly discovering surprises."--New York Times Book Review. Pristine hardcover w/sharp corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding; quite presentable.

Seller Inventory # RUB1592

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Slender Thread : Rediscovering Hope at the Heart of Crisis [Signed & Inscribed]
• Publisher: Random House
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679448772
• ISBN 13: 9780679448778
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New
• Signed: Signed by Author

About this title

Synopsis

his astonishing book by the prizewinning, bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses reveals Ackerman's parallel lives as an observer of the wildlife in her garden and as a telephone crisis counselor. "(Ackerman) brings a luminous and illuminating combination of sensuality, science, and speculation to whatever she considers."--San Francisco Examiner.

From the Inside Flap

ing book by the prizewinning, bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses reveals Ackerman's parallel lives as an observer of the wildlife in her garden and as a telephone crisis counselor. "(Ackerman) brings a luminous and illuminating combination of sensuality, science, and speculation to whatever she considers."--San Francisco Examiner.