With Love from Karen

Rating:
Summary: With Love From Karen & Karen
Review: Both books are highly inspirational and leave one with the feeling of being "one of the family." The fight of the Killileas to give their daughter and sister the most "normal" life possible is awesome. When I first read the books as a child, I simply accept this wonderful family into my world without question. As an adult, I would suggest they could not be quite as saintlike at they seem to be depicted at times. Again, from an adult perspective, I know there must have been disagreements and quarrels from time to time. That would just be normal!
I would recommend these books to anyone facing challenges of his/her own. You will be inspired beyond a doubt.
I didn't know about the fire tragedy which took the lives of Russ and Gloria's two daughters and Marie and Ronald's daughter until a few years ago. I can't even begin to imagine the impact this tragedy must have had on the family. Amy@parsley has copies of newspaper articles about this as well as other pictures of Killilea family members.
The best praise I can give these books is that I wish more had been written, following all the family members, because they truly did seem to become "family" to readers. To this reader, anyway!!
To the Killilea children and their families - thank you for sharing such a large part of your lives with us. I hope you have never had cause to regret it. I suspect your stories have inspired more people in more ways than you will ever know.


Rating:
Summary: Inspiring books--more Killilea family info
Review: "Karen" and "With Love from Karen" are without a doubt two of the most inspiring books I have ever read. Marie Killilea writes with such heart and conviction about her family's experiences and personalities that the reader feels an instant kinship. Perhaps that is why it is so frustrating that so little has been written about the family's later years.

As an update, I recently learned that Gloria passed away in November 2001 at the age of 72. She was survived by her husband (Russ) and two sons, Russell and James. No daughters (Mary and Evelyn) were mentioned. According to Marie Killilea's obituary, little Marie lives in CT and occasionally comes to the Larchmont library. Karen lives/works in Westchester County. She is on the board of a children's home and works for a well-known priest who runs retreats. Rory is married with children and lives in the Seattle area. Kristin is married and lives in Westchester county.

As for why someone from NY Telephone would have had connections to literary, theatrical people, I think this came more from Marie than Jimmy. Her father was a sportswriter for the NY Sun, and there probably would have been some connections there.

Rating:
Summary: A story of deep faith
Review: I am one of the many who read both "Karen" and "With Love from Karen" as a teenager (20 years ago). I loved them as they were uplifting and rich in details as well as inspirational. I have bought the pair again as I wore out the originals.

I would also like to know what happened to the members of the family? We were left hanging so if anyone has any info or any clue how to get any, please let me know. If I could contact any of the family members, I could write an update for all of us that feel we know them...

Rating:
Summary: a very inspiring book
Review: I have bought Karen and With Love from Karen books when I was in high school in 1984. I have always wondered where Karen is (if she's still living) and how she is doing. Guess what? I still have her name on my calendar as she will be 62 years old this year (2002) on August 18th, in case, you are curious.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: I thought my sister and I were the only ones who remembered these books! I am thrilled that it touched others as it touched me.

I first read these books about 27 years ago, when I was 11 years old. I discovered them in the library of my very small Catholic grade school. I was so deeply touched by these books, and Marie Killilea's deep faith and strength still impress upon me today, even though I haven't opened those books since 1974 or 1975.

As the mother of a disabled son (my son is autistic), I have often thought of Marie Killilea and remembered her and her family's strength, and wondered how in the world they were able to be so strong at a time when most disabled children were sent to institutions. There were no support groups then, and very little medical information about cp or brain injuries were available -- none, in fact, to laypersons. It's amazing that they were able to find the immense amount of support from their families and friends in the 40s and 50s.

I am so glad that these books are in print again. I plan to buy them for my 13 year old niece, and I hope that she is inspired by them as I was.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: I was given these books as gifts when I was 16 (24 years ago)because I also have Cerebral Palsy. My mother read them when I was first diagnosed (18 months old) and thought they would be helpful to me. Not only were they helpful, they were inspiring! I am only mildly afflicted with CP and I haven't been through 1/4 of what Karen went through. I read these books yearly and have several copies of the paperbacks as well as a hardcover copy of both. They used to be a reading requirement in high schools - its too bad they are no longer. Highly recommended to anyone who loves to read.

Rating:
Summary: Info on the Killilea Family
Review: If you are interested in information about what happened to Karen and her family over the years, a Yahoo group, Killilea_fans, has done a lot of research which you can find on Yahoo. You need to go to http://groups.yahoo.com/, then search for the group killilea_fans. You will need to sign up on Yahoo if you haven't already. Anyone can join the group.

Be sure and check out the Killilea_fans Description page, as it has a link to "Pertinent Postings" (the most important posts with family info) and a "Timeline" of the Killilea Family. The group has also posted a number of photos of the family as well as newspaper articles.

Marie and Jimmy did not divorce, however, "Little" Marie and her husband Ron Smiley did. On a very sad note, on 7/31/68, Gloria and Russ's two daughters, Mary De Lourdes and Evely Ann, as well as "Little" Marie's daughter, Michelle Smiley, died in a fire in the Lea's house. Gloria and her two sons escaped. Marie Killilea died on 10/23/91, Jimmy died on 7/25/94. Gloria died on 11/28/01 and Russ died on 2/15/02.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome and Inspirational
Review: If you need to be uplifted, this is the book to read. My sister and I both read the book over 20 years ago while we were still teenagers...the lesson's within were not foremost in our minds though. Then along came Adam....my sisters son...who was born with C.P. All the lesson's came rushing back. The books were pulled from the attic and reread. My sister would love to know what became of Karen ( and the rest of the family) as she feels a kindredness to them. If anyone has information that would help my sister find out more about Karen , please feel free to contact me . In the meantime, please, recommend this book to anyone who feels despair and needs inspiration.

Rating:
Summary: A sequel to "Karen", Karen and the Killilea family grow up.
Review: This book was written by Marie Killilea in response to the letters which "Karen" had generated. I used to re-read "Karen" and "With Love From Karen" regularly because they were so inspirational and humorous. What a triumph the whole family had in raising this lovely girl! Now I've lost my copies and am searching for used ones...miss reading them.

Rating:
Summary: Info on the Killilea Family
Review: TO THE WRITER FROM GEORGIA - ALL OF US DO NOT KNOW WHAT YAHOOGROUPS ARE - AND WHAT IS THE KILLILEA BOOK CLUB - DETAILS PLEASE.
I DID LEARN THAT GLORIA'S DAUGHTERS DIED IN A HOUSE FIRE IN 1968 ALONG WITH ONE OF "LITTLE" MARIE'S DAUGHTERS. PERHAPS SO MUCH TRAGEDY IN THE LATER YEARS - MARIE'S LUNG CANCER, JIMMY'S ALSHEIMER'S, THE DEATHS OF THESE THREE CHILDREN, ETC - IS THE REASON THERE IS NO OTHER BOOK

IT ALSO SEEMS THAT IT IS LITTLE MARIE THAT GOT DIVORCED NOT MARIE AND JIMMY