Monday, July 02, 2007

STARVATION HEIGHTS by Gregg Olsen


I have finally finished this book which seemed to take awhile, but not because I didn't find it totally engrossing. I have been attempting to read a few books at once and I don't think I will do that again. I found this true crime story to be totally intriguing, interesting and at times, overwhelming in its horror. Lynne sent me this book and you can read her excellent review on one of her recent blog posts. The author also left a comment!
The story takes place in early 1900's in Olalla, Washington (where the author lives) and centers around Linda Burfield Hazzard, known as the "fasting doctor." She was not a medical doctor, but portrayed herself as such. She believed that strict fasting was the secret to good health and to healing most illnesses. Two sisters, Dora and Claire Williamson, became interested in this therapy and likewise, suffered the consequences.
After I finished this book I went online to find out any other additional information about this notorious story. Read this book!!! Fascinating!!!

4 comments:

kookie said...

I bought a copy of this specifically because of Lynne's recommendation. Now that you seemed to enjoy it too, I'm really looking forward to reading it. It sounds really interesting.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you liked the book. It was a hard subject to read about, but fascinating to learn how people could be led to believe in anything. I did the same thing - searched the internet for more information about this subject.

Unknown said...

It does sound interesting. 'How people could be led to believe in anything' is something I've been wondering about lately -- in other people and myself. I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Just finished this great book & cannot recommend it enough; through some research online, discovered that they're on the way towards a film adaptation... Used to live very close to there; moved to Cali before having time to go check it out.

Here's a link to a site that features an outing to the Starvation Heights area: Washington State Paranormal Investigations and ResearchThanks Violetlady! :)