The Courage to Survive - A Review of the Dennis Kucinich Biography
Posted in Jennifer Ziemann's Blog, Michael O'McCarthy's Blog, Main Blog (All Posts) on December 21st, 2007 8:48 am by Michael O'Mccarthy
By Michael O’McCarthy
The Courage to Survive
An autobiography
by
Dennis J Kucinich
Book Review by: Jennifer Lynne Ziemann
A preface note from Michael O’McCarthy: Dennis Kucinich’s younger broth, Perry died on Wednesday, December 19. Jennifer and I interviewed Dennis last month during a campaign appearance in Asheville, NC. It was a remarkable interview (previously published here - now web-viral,) with the most progressive candidate for the presidency in recent memory. During our time with him he talked some about his family life. What we found in his book, as reviewed by Jennifer, is what an extraordinary family person Dennis Kucinich is. That furthers our respect for him. And we send him our dearest condolences in his loss as a kin with whom he was very close.
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The Courage to Survive
I picked up this to read after my partner Michael O’ McCarthy and I had completed an extraordinary interview with Dennis Kucinich. He is an immensely likable man, a working class hero. I was compelled to know more and after having completed this book, I definitely understand why he is who he is.
The Courage to Survive is the autobiography of Dennis as a young boy and young man growing up in the poor working class of Cleveland, Ohio. At times his family was so destitute that they lived in their car. A particularly poignant reference in the book is when Dennis upon the first night living in their car looks out the backseat window to see a towering torch of fire shoot from a long smokestack of a steel mill. He felt the light to be comforting as it shot up to fifty feet in the air illuminating their car. Throughout his childhood he would often seek that comforting light in the sky. This is such a telling working class American story where the comfort for the child does not take place in front of a warm, cozy fireplace but in the fiery illuminating light coming from a steel mill. Living in a car at one time and being a survivor of domestic violence, I understood how life could be so bad that you cling to every precious moment and you know in your heart that somehow you will survive.This story shows how the American dream is only given to a few while the rest have to fight tooth and nail for it. And that is what Dennis did. He struggled in a family plagued by mental illness, alcoholism and domestic violence. He was the oldest of seven children who scrubbed floors and shined shoes in order to help his parents pay for book and tuition fees at Catholic school. From his meager pay he helped to buy Christmas presents for his siblings. When his mother was hospitalized for depression after the birth of her seventh child, Dennis and three of his siblings were sent to an orphanage to live until his mother came home and his parents were able to get back on their feet.Despite his parent’s alcoholism and the constant evictions his family suffered —– there is a string of emotional togetherness. There is love between his parents, Dennis and his siblings. At times dysfunctional, their love is enduring and gets Dennis through the toughest times of his life. He was an asthmatic child and at times suffered debilitating stomach pains. Due to inadequate health care he discovered in his adult life that the ailment was actually Crone’s disease. He only discovered this after having over five feet of his intestines removed.
Dennis Kucinch’s story demands attention for its tale of stalwart survival. His love of education began at an early age with his Irish mother reading Celtic stories to him at bedtime. This set a pattern of self-education, which he did on a regular basis along with his normal schooling. He went to college and at one time worked two jobs to pay for it.
He discovered that his passion was service to the people and the path in doing so was politics. He writes about his campaigning for city council, his first failed attempt and how despite doctor’s advice due to the way stress could cause a flare up in his Crone’s disease he went on to succeed in his quest for city council. This as we know is merely the beginning to a miraculous career.
I found most endearing his faith. He speaks of it throughout the book and how it helped him hold on to the belief that he could succeed. I find this so endearing because of his present day politics. He is ardent in respecting everyone’s personal belief. He speaks of Chinese medicines, Dali Lama, UFO’s, and Christianity all in one breath. He recognizes that, perhaps, there is a greater force but everyone chooses what that force is. The Courage to Survive is truly a book that would give hope to anyone that reads it.
The Courage to Survive is also testament to why Dennis Kucinich represents the best politics for a progressive change in American history and thus, makes him the best presidential candidate in US history.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:29 pm
So because Dennis has gone through things that 1000’s of other americans have gone through that makes him the best. Really. I find that hard to believe. His story isn’t any different than millions of other americans that survived the great depression or people that have done the same thing that he has done. There are millions of kids that live in the same conditions that he lived in right now and they are doing the same thing he did. That doesn’t make him special.
What you are saying about his book doesn’t get me to like the guy any more than I did a month ago. You want a true reading of Dennis than why don’t you look at his policies and his history.
If what you are saying is true than he should be for bring the troops home and yet he votes no on every bill that has had a time line to bring the troops home. He should be for saving kids and yet he votes yes to every Partial-Birth Abortion bill and votes NO to every bill to Prohibit Partial-Birth Abortion. HE votes NO to Family Planning Assistance Funding amendment and yet his very own family could have used that help when he was growing up. He votes NO to you being notified of your child being taken across state lines to have an abortion. He votes NO to rural development, food aid, price supports, and conservation efforts. He votes NO on Endangered Species Reauthorization bills. He votes NO on just about all Appropriations unless it is for funding the Legislative Branch and than he is all for it. He votes NO on tax cuts, which any first years CPA can tell you is the dumbest thing anyone could do because tax cuts don’t help just the rich. But than the media has been telling people that for so long that they don’t know any better. I you think about it if taxes are cut that means that business are more likely to give raises. People are more likely to spend money and save money in which case both of those example give the government more tax money. They cut your taxes on you income you get a raise you still have the tax cut and you get a bigger paycheck they get the same small percentage of you hourly wage. Both you and the government get more money. Your local government cut sales taxes you can by more they get more taxes. That is basic accounting and yet people can’t figure that out.
He doesn’t was a voter ID program to help make the intergrity of the voting better he would rather let dead people still keep voting. He votes NO on you being able to have Public Expression of Religion. That is a violation of our constitutional rights. He voted NO to Vote to pass a bill that requires more disclosure of lobbying information and which members request earmarked provisions. So he doesn’t want you to know who is earmarking funds.
He voted no to adopt a substitute amendment that assigns additional punishment for violence committed against a pregnant woman that interrupts or terminates her pregnancy.
He voted NO to pass a bill to provide state and local governments with federal grants to control juvenile crime, improve the juvenile justice system, and strengthen penalties for specific firearms-related crimes.
He has voted NO on every single bill to fund the military even before Iraq started. And yet he vote Yes to give the President the power to use the military to go after any and all people and countries that were behind 9/11.
He has voted NO on just about every Foreign Aid and Policy Issues that has come before him.
He voted NO to pass a bill that allows individual private property owners access to both local and federal courts when bringing forward civil rights cases concerning their property.
He voted NO to pass a bill that grants state and local officials inherent authority to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer undocumented immigrants to Federal custody as well as clarifies specific litigation issues.
He voted NO to pass a bill that authorizes the construction of an additional 700 miles of double-layered fencing between the U.S and Mexico and grants the Secretary of Homeland Security authority to take necessary steps to stop unlawful entry of immigrants into the U.S.
NO to pass a bill that addresses undocumented immigration and strengthens border security.
He has voted NO on most every Trade Issues.
He voted NO to pass a bill to expand veterans’ health care services and other benefits programs.
He votes Yes for most all Welfare and Poverty bills.
And he has refused to take a Political Courage Test to show were he stands on the issues.
Well in an over view He doesn’t care about Vets or the troops he doesn’t care about kids and is will to kill them. He doesn’t care about women and there rights. He doesn’t care about you and your property rights.
This is not a guy I want running my country. He doesn’t care about me he just cares about himslef and the more money he can get. And after reading this you still think he is the man than you need to be checked out by a doctor because you have been brain washed by the liberal media and the Democrats and need help.
September 21st, 2008 at 4:59 am
Hello, I was looking around for a while searching for grants for homeland security and I happened upon this site and your post regarding rage to Survive - A Review of the Dennis Kucinich Biography | The Hollywood Liberal, I will definitely this to my grants for homeland security bookmarks!