Patrick Carroll

This book tells the story of Pat Carroll’s failed marriage to Jeanine, a mentally unstable alcoholic and drug addict, and the toll it took on his six children. Shannon, the fourth of six, paid the ultimate price for her mother’s negligence. She died of rabies in a day and age when it is almost unheard of to even catch the disease. Not only did Pat have to contend with the unnecessary loss of his daughter, he had to battle the bias held by family courts that children are best left in the custody of their mothers.

This story is heartbreaking, but I found Carroll to be disingenuous. While his ex-wife clearly has issues, he was by no means perfect. He berates her for her drinking and drug use when he admits to drinking to excess on numerous occasions and using pot. His compassion for Jeanine who was experiencing a great deal of post-partum depression was nearly non-existent. In fact, when pregnancy and childbirth became a threat to her health, he suggested she have a tubal ligation. When she became pregnant with their sixth child, he blamed her for not acting fast enough. Apparently he would rather place blame than to pursue a vasectomy or take precautions of his own.

After reading Rabies Mom, it is clear that Pat Carroll could not focus on a single purpose for his writing. Is this a book to celebrate the life of the daughter Carroll lost? To highlight the injustice of the current family court system? To vilify and place blame squarely on his ex-wife’s shoulders? Because of the amount of energy spent on his wife, I feel the real reason was to point his finger. Carroll went through great pains at the end of the book to justify why he did what he did. He claims that this was all for Shannon and her legacy. I found that very hard to believe given the title.

This book, which isn’t lengthy and didn’t take long to read, could have benefited greatly from a content editor. Once Shannon was in the hospital, I noticed that he kept repeating how much he couldn’t believe his wife’s actions and behaviors. Within the same chapter, for example, he mentioned how competent he found the doctors and hospital staff only to reiterate those statements to a friend over the phone. There was also a lot of hospital detail that could very easily have been left out or condensed. While I understand that every detail and hurt is precious and meaningful to the author, it isn’t to the reader. It’s a nuisance, actually. As such, this story would have been better suited in an article or within a collection of stories by other divorced fathers who have had to battle the courts for the sake of their children.

I wouldn’t recommend the book. A visit to the website would probably be sufficient.

http://literatehousewife.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/91-rabies-mom/… (plus d'informations)

Pat Carroll has a heartbreaking story to tell. I am truly sorry for the death of his daughter Shannon, and I sympathize with his entire family for what they’ve been through. Nonetheless, Rabies Mom is an unsuccessful book on many levels. My primary complaint is that Rabies Mom is nothing more than a vitriolic tirade. From the very beginning of the book, Carroll’s bitterness and hatred for his ex-wife is abundantly clear. His tone is condescending and contemptuous throughout. I found this off-putting because, as a reader who has never met Carroll, I was never able to form a positive impression of him. Because of his incessant ranting, Carroll is unlikable from the start, and that’s a shame if he really is a nice guy.

Carroll does not approach his subject with any sense of perspective. As a result, he gives the impression of being an extremely unreliable narrator. I finished the book not really believing Carroll’s rendition of the facts. I suspect there’s another side to this story.… (plus d'informations)

http://nhw.livejournal.com/875679.html

A very grand intellectual scheme, connecting the growth of science with the growth of the state, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular, the author writes of "engine science", using scopes, meters, graphs and chambers to investigate and dominate the natural world, and links this scientific enterprise to the state's growing control of its territory. What's particularly interesting is that he uses Ireland as his worked example - and in particular calls attention to William Petty for his innovations in bringing science into statecraft.

I was convinced. I'm not as familiar with the field as I used to be, but I think this is a major book with some fascinating general ideas and some equally fascinating revelations about the science/state nexus in Ireland.… (plus d'informations)