false 64880 2 Diane Ackerman has generally turned her unusual sensitivity to consideration of the natural world and the human experience of it. In <b>A Slender Thread</b>, she journeys down a vastly different road, describing her involvement with a telephone crisis center in the college town where she lives. The callers want her to talk them out of suicide, and their fear and sadness is a weight she at first has trouble bearing gracefully. <P> <blockquote> "It's no bother. That's why we're here," I say, trying not to sound dutiful or perfunctory. I want him to stay calm, but I also want him to feel comfortable about calling. As usual, I wish I had more control over my voice, wish I could sculpt its nuances so that, regardless of the exact words I used, the tone would tell a caller like this one, <i>You're not alone. We're here to help you, or, if help is impossible, at least to understand.</i> I think it's possible to insinuate your emotions into your voice wholeheartedly like that, to speak sentences charged with pure emotion, as if they were part of an opera in which indecipherable words float on waves of heart-stirring and meaningful music. I just can't figure out how best to do it. </blockquote> <P> Ackerman explores human despair as she would a magnificent cavern, always moving toward the light of understanding. Highly recommended. 62972 1998 Slender Thread total:63|5:19|4:22|3:17|2:3|1:2| 63 242 101 12 1 0 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 08:48:30 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 07:34:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Feb 01 01:22:57 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 01:26:19 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 03 19:08:12 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 03 19:13:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995 Sat Feb 14 15:35:33 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 15:36:26 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Feb 22 15:26:22 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 15:27:02 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 09 09:54:48 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 28 07:15:01 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 11 17:15:19 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 17:17:56 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Mon Mar 31 22:36:48 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 31 22:42:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 16 16:11:58 -0800 2007 Sun May 18 20:10:42 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Mar 28 08:40:09 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 08:41:48 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun May 25 04:01:26 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 23:07:41 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Mon Jul 02 18:11:55 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 02 18:11:55 -0700 2007 http://oyceter.livejournal.com/335431.ht...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Dec 02 01:34:41 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 01:34:41 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 12:24:54 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 12:24:54 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 14 11:26:09 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 11:26:09 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Oct 04 09:12:03 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 09:12:03 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Sep 28 22:55:17 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 22:55:17 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Fri Sep 25 09:24:10 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:24:23 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Sep 25 03:40:38 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 03:40:44 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Sep 24 08:49:03 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 08:49:03 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=64880