November 25th is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to raise awareness about all forms of violence against women.
This is a pretty serious topic, and I have a seriously good book, “Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane)” by Gavin de Becker, 1999. Gavin de Becker is perhaps the countries leading expert on predicting violent behaviour. He has trained The CIA, and advised The United States Supreme Court. He has been appointed three times to different governments, to change the way the United States protects its officials. He is the co-chair of the Domestic Violence Council Advisory Board, and co founder of Victory over Violence, an organiation that assists battered women and their children He knows his stuff.
Anyone who has a young child, or a daughter of any age, really needs read this book. Every woman should read this book. I talk a lot about cute books, or old books, or unusual books, but this book by Gavin De Becker is an important book, and should be read. I bought a copy for my son and daughter, when they first had children.
The first part of this book is about “gut feelings” and when something doesn’t feel right, perhaps a vibe about someone, or a sense the area one is in, is not safe. The author tells us that feeling is a sixth sense…and is usually right. We tend to try and override those feeling when we have them, when we should be listening. Gavin de Becker gives great examples on how we should listen to our inner selves more often. He wrote an equally great book called “The Gift of Fear” that every woman of any age should also read. It delves into that inner-self feeling even more. My daughter has it. I keep giving my copy away to others who may benefit, and then I buy it again.
The rest of the book is how to watch over our children and young women, along with training ourselves and our children to be more aware of things around us. There are plenty of facts and tips. One small example is we teach our children to look for a policeman if they are lost or scared. How often does one see a policeman walking on the street or in a mall? We don’t. They more likely see a mall cop, and kids think they are a policeman because of the uniform.
Often, mall cops are men who have failed at being a policeman. Many have anger issues, or traits that have kept them from being a real policeman. Why should we tell our children to go to them? The author solidly tells us that not all mall cops are bad, in fact only a small amount are, but…why take a chance at all? He says if our child is lost, or can’t find their mother, instead of looking for a rarely found policeman, they should walk up to a mom with children, and ask them to help find their own mom. A mother with children, is the least likely to be a predator, or a bad person. The odds are so much better with them finding help. We should always play the odds in protecting our children.
So we should then also teach our children to be able to speak to strangers-just also train them who best to talk to. Children need to be able to communicate clearly if a parent is not there. While I can keep giving examples, I truly urge my audience to buy or get from the local library, either (or both) of Gavin de Becker’s books.
The best way to protect our children and women is to educate them about ‘bad things and people’, without just scaring them. Spoiler alert, I am giving my oldest two grandaughters (18 and 16) “The Gift of Fear”, perhaps as an additional Christmas present.
November 25th also begins National Book Week. It gives me another great opportunity to show off books from my library. While I have already emphatically endorsed the above two books, let me present a few more. I keep this set of books on the corner of my desk. The colors, the titles… these books make me smile every time I set eyes on them.
“The Red Lure” “A Mystery Story for Boys” by Roy J. Snell, published in 1926. Johnny Thompson is seeking a mythical Honduran treasure named the ‘red lure’.
“Derelicts” by William J. Locke, published in 1897. Stephen Joyce struggles with life after prison, and then meets an old associate Yvonne Latour. Which will win, self loathing or renewed friendship with a girl named Yvonne?
“Revolt of the Oyster” by Don Marquis, published in 1922. This is a story about oysters that revolt and rise up against the traditional roles and conditions that oysters normally live. What are their stuggles and triumphs? Will they win against their human oppressors?
“Ladies Manual of Art” or “Profit and Pastime: A Self Teacher in All Branches of Decorative Art” published in 1890. There is every type of painting and drawing, including on paper, canvas, terra cotta, china, wood, glass, silk, and photographs. Then, wax and mold making, flowers and feather designs, staining glass, various embroidery, and even taxidermy. The publishers state that women should embrace this book as a source of profit as well as pleasure.
“Thought and Its Expression” “A Course in Thinking and Writing for College Students” by George Carpenter Clancy, published in 1928. The author states “This book is designed to meet the needs of college English composition courses…Many a composition course has died, to all effects, of sheer inanation, before it is half over, as teacher and pupil have sought vainly to pluck ideas for themes out of thin air. I have attempted to supply this ‘substance’ from the world of ideas in which thoughtful people move…”
As well as wonderful titles, these five books have great substance between their covers. The content is quite varied. I leave them on my desk as visual evidence-a constant reminder of the fundament theme of my library, true Library Tomes.
Happy National Book Week!
Librarytomes 