Apologies for a the misspelled post yesterday, company was here and I didn't see the error until I had clicked the submit function.

I've just now come home from the event, and I feel like I want to advocate for Helene Cooper the person in addition her emotional, deeply dramatic, but always beautiful memoir.

In a conversation with Steve that took place in front of an audience of strangers, she described with passionate restraint her unique and special story. Sitting in the front row, I felt privy to a powerful aura that surrounded her -- one that pulled at my heart strings ever so tightly as she delved into her mother's sacrifices in Liberia and then later filled me with a special sense of awe as she transitioned into a description of the subtle but overwhelming strength of African women.

But then, you see, I had the privilege to read the book and then attend the event and meet the person, a person whom I had already garnered respect for and gained personal strength from as I read her story.

I earnestly urge you to read The House at Sugar Beach, a memoir that is deeply personal, important, engaging, and engrossing. For many, it will illuminate a part of you that was once perhaps ignored, forgotten, or even undeveloped. It will make you feel for both the core characters and the rich background -- the Cooper family and the Liberian child soldiers. It pulled me in and made me hurt, though her ending filled with redemption was a genuine catharsis (I won't spoil it for those that have not yet read the book).

It is perhaps a perfect gift for anyone you care about -- the time of the year or holiday is irrelevant, though as a Christmas gift the book would prove exceptional. So filled with heart, depth, and a powerful, real, and intuitive sense of humanity, The House at Sugar Beach is a rare and wonderful achievement. Its warm and full presence will stay with you long after its words.

At first I thought it was an attempt to copy the Wii with the avatar. But there are some useful improvements.