River of Time

Struggling through a childhood of harsh family secrets, the death of a young sibling, and absent emotional support, Naomi found herself reluctantly married and an expectant mother at age seventeen. Four years later, she was a single mom of two, who survived being beaten and raped, and was abandoned without any financial support and nowhere to turn in Hollywood, CA.

Naomi has always been a survivor: She put herself through nursing school to support her young daughters, then took a courageous chance by moving to Nashville to pursue their fantastic dream of careers in country music. Her leap of faith paid off, and Naomi and her daughter Wynonna became The Judds, soon ranking with country music's biggest stars, selling more than 20 million records and winning six Grammys.

At the height of the singing duo's popularity, Naomi was given three years to live after being diagnosed with the previously incurable Hepatitis C. Miraculously, she overcame that too and was pronounced completely cured five years later. But Naomi was still to face her most desperate fight yet.

After finishing a tour with Wynonna in , she began a three-year battle with Severe Treatment Resistant Depression and anxiety. She suffered through frustrating and dangerous roller-coaster effects with antidepressants and other drugs, often terrifying therapies and, at her absolute lowest points, thoughts of suicide. But Naomi persevered once again. Read more Read less. Add both to Cart Add both to List. These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Academic Book Solutions.

This Life I Live: Ships from and sold by Amazon. Customers who bought this item also bought. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Coming Home to Myself. All That Is Bitter and Sweet: Review "I've known Naomi Judd for 25 years as a woman of indomitable strength and courage. Center Street December 6, Language: Start reading River of Time on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.

Write a customer review. See all customer images. Read reviews that mention depression and anxiety naomi judd well written river of time mental illness panic attacks highly recommend anxiety and depression thank you naomi god bless sharing your story great read felt like read this book gives hope resistant depression recommend this book naomi for sharing mental health book to anyone.

Showing of reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Halfway through with Naomi's book. Can't put it down. If you struggled with anxiety and depression like me your entire life you will love this book. Naomi's story is inspiring and gives me hope. This was not a feel good story. But it isn't supposed to be.

It's about long buried trauma that bursts forth whenever your self-medication with work or kids or drugs or alcohol inevitably goes away. It's told with stark truth, raw emotion, and heartbreaking reality. Naomi's story happened on a grand scale- child of poverty, neglect and abuse somehow powers through, but accumulates searing trauma after trauma that have to be suppressed instead of processed. With enormous talent and grit and luck, she makes something really big of herself.

Naomi's career brought financial success, but what may be less obvious is that her sense of purpose and accomplishment and the connection with her audiences effectively put her traumas in a dorment state. And then the music literally stopped. Without the self-medication of her career, all her suppressed trauma came screaming out.

Most people who'll read this are not famous performers, but at some point in life, we will all lose critical elements of ourselves. Small children will grow into independent adults, rewriting the significance and purpose as our role as parents. Careers will stall or cease, or at their best, come to an inevitable end as we age, taking with them the purpose and power we found from work. Marriages will dissolve, ripping away our identities as wives or husbands, taking away the hope and possibility and future that we once thought those roles held.

And I must say, reading her story makes my own trials look small by comparison. I also grew up amid instability and abuse, and promised myself that when I grew up, I'd always protect my children. Then I gave birth to stillborn twins, and there was nothing I could do to protect them. That's when all of my buried trauma seeped out like sewage.

Writing about it helps you heal, and helps others since our pain is our own but our situations are shared by too many just like us. I know it was therapeutic for her, and will be incredibly helpful for the millions who struggle with unresolved trauma.

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Read it with tissues nearby, and big bear hugs to anyone who needs them. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Thank you, Naomi, for sharing your remarkable life with us. This book is heart-felt, informative, sincere, and an inspiration for those of us who also live in this darkness. Thank you Naomi for helping me. So many resources are not available like you had access to. I am beyond grateful you did get that. No one deserves to suffer in the hell we sufferers do.

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I'd almost trade this hell for cancer on some days. Things I wouldn't admit to anyone, you admitted in your book. There is so much shame in the manifestations of depression; the hygiene, the isolation, the avoidance, the anxiety, the lies, the guilt, the lostness. It's all so overwhelming even to us; let alone have to share it to someone else or even a dr.

Aug 18, Brad rated it liked it.

This book suffers from ambiguous writing and missed opportunities for insight. For instance, there are various ethical dilemmas he faced that receive superficial treatment and a failure to consider in depth the connection between his wonderful colonial experience and the later suffering and abandonment of the Cambodians.

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The book also contains maddeningly incomprehensible sentences and long phrases of French and Vietnamese, which the author uses as important parts of paragraphs and yet pretentio This book suffers from ambiguous writing and missed opportunities for insight. The book also contains maddeningly incomprehensible sentences and long phrases of French and Vietnamese, which the author uses as important parts of paragraphs and yet pretentiously leaves untranslated.

The book nonetheless was a valuable read while I traveled in Vietnam. Swain provides accounts, mostly first-hand, of the many horrors of the conflicts in Cambodia and Vietnam. I found his narration empathetic and sometimes heart-breaking. The second half of the book seemed much stronger than the first, maybe because Swain's romanticized calm before the storm is less compelling than the storm itself.

Here, the storm is the wars reaching his beloved cities, Phnom Penh and Saigon, and his friends there. Aug 14, Adam Alston rated it it was amazing. One of the favourite books i've read, a really intoxicating memoir of an amazing place in a crazy time. This book briefly captures the magic of one individual's experience of Cambodia at a special time which has now past into pages and memories. The powerful and colourful recollection of the somewhat magical 'pre-war' Cambodia, and also the somewhat darker magic of War-era Vietnam, from a working journalists point of view, I found to be an extremely rewarding read.

Finishing the book in 5 weekda One of the favourite books i've read, a really intoxicating memoir of an amazing place in a crazy time.

Finishing the book in 5 weekdays outside of work all I can think of is how unlucky I am to have missed such an amazing place, one which was irreversibly changed forever. I thank the author for providing us a glimpse into it, of his life, of the characters he got to meet, of the happiness and sadness he encountered along the way If you're thinking about going to Cambodia, or even Vietnam, you seriously need to read this A harrowing account of the horrors of war in Indo-China, lightened somewhat by Swain's reflections on his own youthful captivation with Cambodia, Vietnam, and their people.

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It is also a story of how the romantic love of his life is blighted by his own compulsion to travel to war zones and report on them. He forces the reader to face up to the desperate sadness of what we like to call 'inhuman' behaviour - although unfortunately it is all too human. We are left marvelling at the bravery - or fool A harrowing account of the horrors of war in Indo-China, lightened somewhat by Swain's reflections on his own youthful captivation with Cambodia, Vietnam, and their people. We are left marvelling at the bravery - or foolhardiness he acknowledges the ambiguity - of his journalistic passion.

Jun 28, Vikram rated it really liked it. It's filled with hopeless exoticism, but a beautiful account of a war correspondent's time in Indochina and to a lesser extent Ethiopia. His portrayal of Cambodia and the rise of the Khmer Rouge is particularly evocative and moving. Beautifully written, poignant, exotic -- a travelogue, war diary, and introspection -- this book is many cuts above the usual of this genre.

Jul 29, Sam Romilly rated it liked it. This is certainly an interesting story. Few people would have experienced all the events in vietnam and cambodia and the author does a great job to document all that he saw. What I disliked about the book was the insight it gave into the mind of someone who would deliberately put himself right in the middle of a war for effectively the thrill of it all. There seemed little sense of horror and disgust - it was more just like a great adventure, and the local people, the victims, were just to be ta This is certainly an interesting story.

There seemed little sense of horror and disgust - it was more just like a great adventure, and the local people, the victims, were just to be taken advantage of whilst the western journalists lived their lives of privilege. I did not have a sense that his journalist contributions were written with the idea to give insight or to try and make things better.

As a book it was more like an extended diary without too much self-awareness.

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Certainly worth a read for the first hand accounts of what happened during the fall of Vietnam and Cambodia. Refers to the North Vietnamese massacre of South Vietnamese at Hue which I had not known about - apparently 3, or more civilians were killed whilst the town was occupied. On the other hand despite going out with the american troops to battle there is no mention of US force atrocities - which were much more than what was revealed at My Lai.

Time will bring out more truths but I fear this book has not unearthed as much as it could - or should. Jul 08, Ellen rated it did not like it Shelves: I would not recommend this book at all, unless you enjoy reading bemoning about how the colonial days are gone and those 'pesky natives' tried to run things for themselves, but 'oh what a jolly mess they made'. The book is thoroughly racist, and politically very confused making no distinction between the neo-maoist nationalist force the khmer rouge and the vietcong, for example, seeing them all as 'communist'.

He makes no attempt to engage with any of the events he is documenting, and he complet I would not recommend this book at all, unless you enjoy reading bemoning about how the colonial days are gone and those 'pesky natives' tried to run things for themselves, but 'oh what a jolly mess they made'. He makes no attempt to engage with any of the events he is documenting, and he completely ignores the role of western intervention in the conflicts. Even if you can move past the terrible politics, the book is rather boring and difficult to sympathise with - for example when he is in Phnom Penh at it's fall he spends 5 pages droning on about how terrible it was, despite him and the other white people being inside the air-connitied rooms of the embassy with plenty food, water, even alcoholic drinks and cards, while thousands of Cambodians were kept outside with no shelter, water, or worse of all any sympathy by the author.

When reading this book it almost feels like it's a parody of the disgusting attitudes of the imperialist countries towards indo-china Apr 03, Mary Ann rated it it was amazing. Picked up River of Time while in Cambodia. Fast-paced, enthralling and not a book to be put down, it filled in much of the tragic story of Cambodia for me through the eyes of journalist and author, Jon Swain.

Followed it up with watching Swain in "The Killing Fields". Must read for all those interested in Southeast Asia, Indo-China history and the turbulent times of the war in Vietnam and the tragedy of Pol Pot regime's reign in Cambodia. Dec 03, Les Dangerfield rated it really liked it. A journalist's account of the horrors of the final phase of the war in Vietnam and of the Khmer Rouge atrocities in Cambodia. Depressing how the history of man's inhumanity to man repeats itself in endless circles.

Apr 21, Thomas Barrett rated it it was amazing Shelves: Holy shit this book was powerful. Yes, its a bit orientalist with lots of descriptions of 'exotic' landscapes but the writing is so damn good and I polished it off in 2 sittings. There is a sad story behind every smile Nov 19, Yanhong Zhang rated it it was amazing. I read this book whilst in Vietnam, given to me by a friend, and it greatly effects the atmosphere the book creates. It's devastatingly shocking and sad, yet an eye-opening read.

I read this memoir during my travels through Vietnam and Cambodia. Being in the presence of these countries has made learning about the tragic events of Indo-China a journey in itself. It was really difficult to hear about the privileges of foreigners and the harsh abandonment of the innocent and helpless. Mar 17, Richard McGeough rated it it was amazing. John Swain witnessed some of the worst that human beings can do to each other in s Cambodia and Vietnam. This is necessarily a sombre book, yet full of colour as the author brings to life the people and street life of Phnom Penh and Saigon before they fell.

River of Time

He describes the horrific, pitiful emptying of Phnom Penh, and of the ruined lives he encounters on returning to both cities years afterwards. Unsurprisingly, it's not a rosy book, but it's powerful and very, very Immensely moving memoir. Unsurprisingly, it's not a rosy book, but it's powerful and very, very moving. It brought the lives of real, ordinary people to me in a way that a straightforward history book couldn't have. River of Time is mainly a memoir of Jon Swain's time as a journalist in Cambodia leading up to the takeover of the Khmer Rouge, but it also includes parts detailing his time in Vietnam, Laos and Ethiopia.

This memoir is very emotional, and you can tell that the author has a lot of emotion for the area he writes about. The early part of the book is devoted to the naive and peaceful view of the Cambodians and foreigners in and around Phnom Penh, while at the same time the rest of the country was River of Time is mainly a memoir of Jon Swain's time as a journalist in Cambodia leading up to the takeover of the Khmer Rouge, but it also includes parts detailing his time in Vietnam, Laos and Ethiopia.

The early part of the book is devoted to the naive and peaceful view of the Cambodians and foreigners in and around Phnom Penh, while at the same time the rest of the country was falling slowly but surely to the Khmer Rouge. After being stripped of his working visa in Cambodia he still doesn't know exactly why it was taken away , the news service he was working for transferred him to Vietnam. He then describes his memories in Vietnam, which are dominated by the memories of the half Vietnamese half French woman he was with at the time, Jacqueline.

The book then goes on to give examples of the horror and suffering that Swain saw when he returned to Phnom Penh, which was on the verge of falling to the Khmer Rouge by the time he arrived. And with this we get to the main reason I wanted to read the memoir, which was his experience of the fall of Phnom Penh. It is a very good description of the madness and uncertainty of Phnom Penh, as people were being rounded up, with the political opponents executed and everyone else being forced out of Phnom Penh on a mass exodus to work on collectivized farms. Much of this chapter will be fairly familiar to people who watched the movie The Killing Fields.

After being taken to Thailand, he then briefly describes his life there, his short stay in Laos, and finally his visit to Hanoi. After a description of the horrors and suffering of the Vietnamese boat people, he tells of his return to Europe and his decision to accept an assignment to Ethiopia- during which he is captured and held prisoner for being a suspected "imperialist spy". During his time in Ethiopia as a prisoner, Swain reflects on his childhood and his time in the French Foreign Legion, although he never actually finished training, but he was in it for a brief period.

After being freed from Ethiopia, he went back to France and then to London- And while in France, his relationship with Jacqueline ends, she being tired of his constant running away without her, and having already lost a journalist husband in Cambodia, she could not bare to go through it again. After a period working a desk job at the Sunday Times of London, he received a message from Dith Pran saying that he had survived; Swain then returned to Cambodia to see his old friend and experience the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge. The Phnom Penh he returned to was not the one that he had left; it had been so thoroughly destroyed that the hotel he was staying in Only two had been reopened in the year following Phnom Penh's liberation by the Vietnamese, and one was being used strictly to house foreign aid workers could not even serve meals because they did not have any utensils.

There were no phones, no paper, no monks and no currency; the libraries had been emptied of all there books, and had just reopened a few days before his visit, with only two English novels in the entire library: The country had nearly been obliterated. Swain says that if it had not been for the Vietnamese invading when they did, Pol Pot may have succeeded in completely destroying any vestige of Cambodian society.

After this he returned to "liberated" Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City , and saw the suffering and poverty that were now rampant in the city. Many of his friends were suspected of being Western spies, and only the families of rich Communist officials from Hanoi were doing well under this new regime. Swain ends the book saying he hopes that Indochina will eventually return to what he remembered it as, but that it is difficult to keep his hopes up that Indochina will return to its former self.

It is one of my goals in life to visit every country in Indochina. Although I have yet to step foot out of the United States, I have done a lot of reading on Indochina and have an immense interest in visiting and maybe even living in the area.

I am not entirely sure why, but since the age of 12 or 13 I have always wanted to visit. Jul 30, Edgar rated it really liked it. I was ambivalent initially reading this book as the author unashamedly indulges in the pleasures to be had in that region - in Saigon then one huge brothel and Phnom Penh. And like a thrill seeker, he exults in the excitement of war and the danger and deaths resulting there from. But his journalist skills, his courage and honesty redeem him in my eyes. The pivotal point in the book was his foolhardy decision to board a plane to Phnom Penh at a time when every sane person was going the other way, when the Khmer Rouge were finally invading the city.

Thanks to his courage we have a key eye witness account of those traumatic days. Right until communications were broken off he was filing stories at the main post office. The Sunday Times, then in its halcyon Harold Evans days, ran his story and he became a permanent staff member. He also won the prestigious journalist of the year award that year. Their colonial culture, he quotes, centred around the three Bs — bars, boulevards and brothels.

For him there were heroes and villains on both sides. He bemoans the death of over 50, of their men, half of whom were under But he feels most for the soldiers of the corrupt South Vietnam government, whose casualties are much greater, especially when the Americans pull out and they are left to fend for themselves against the inexorable Vietcong and North Vietnamese.

Dec 31, Karen rated it really liked it. In context for trip to Vietnam, interesting to see a different perspective.

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Oct 04, Ryan rated it liked it Shelves: Chronicles the career of a war correspondent who spent 5 years covering Vietnam and Cambodia from to when an era of colonialism ended with the fall of Saigon and Phnom Penh to the communists. There are few events in recent history as traumatic and horrifying as the purging of Cambodia's cities by the Khmer Rouge and their subsequent brutal reign of terror that effectively destroyed the country physically, culturally and socially.

Swain came very close to being a statistic in those tumu Chronicles the career of a war correspondent who spent 5 years covering Vietnam and Cambodia from to when an era of colonialism ended with the fall of Saigon and Phnom Penh to the communists. Swain came very close to being a statistic in those tumultuous days of violence but lived to pen down his experiences. More than just describing the atrocities, this very personal recollection of events also tells of his love for the people and region when it was thriving, bustling, cosmopolitan and sophisticated, yet retaining a sense of rustic charm and tranquility.

In stark contrast, the two cities could not be more different after their fall, becoming dreary and dull, with oppressive atmospheres, mere shadows of their former glory. The author also chronicles the plight and tragedy of the Vietnamese boat people who fled the country in desperation, only to encounter unspeakable horrors at the hands of pirates at sea.