Overview
Author Events
News Articles
Reviews
Videos/Multimedia
Contact Inquiries
Book Reviews
|
All About Kids Magazine "As a mom of five, the author has plenty of hands-on experience. This book is full of humor and insight about dealing with gifted minds. More of a journal than a parenting book, it's a very entertaining read. She gently reminds us to always look on the bright side when dealing with your kids, even if they did spend all weekend digging a 'pond' in the backyard...it's OK. Really." |
|
Lively Times Magazine "Karen Isaacson offers a delightful sequel to Raisin' Brains: Surviving My Smart Family that's brimming with amusing anecdotes and armed with coping strategies for living with a family whose gray matter processes thoughts and ideas 'in the fast lane.' "Her five children are older and more mature since her first book, but they still supply Isaacson with plenty of material to illustrate the unique challenges that arise in a household of gifted minds. "Humor looms large in Isaacson's approach to parenting, and without it, she says she probably wouldn't survive. What do you say to your children when they ask (in all seriousness) if they can start dismantling the house for wood and supplies to build a time-travel ship? "Isaacson points out character traits common to gifted people and offers insight into situations where very bright students fail at conventional schooling, have trouble fitting into a peer group, and feel that sometimes they are just plain 'weird.'" |
|
Nashville Parent Magazine "Author Isaacson shares anecdotes families can relate to. Her recommendations for handling life's curveballs thrown by gifted children, though, is the point of the book. She equips readers with handy ammo to curb even the feistiest of family fiascos, all the while encouraging readers to 'look on the bright side.' A light-hearted read for parents of gifted kids." |
|
Arlene DeVries, M.S.E., Author of Gifted Parent Groups: The SENG Model, Gifted/Talented Consultant, Des Moines, Iowa "A mother of five recommends hope, humor, and looking on the bright side in a family where she says 'curiosity and creativity run loose.' Delightful real life scenarios told with wit and insight. If you experience 'life in the fast brain' at your house, this book is for you!" |
|
iParenting Media Awards' Reviewer "This author has a great positive, open-minded outlook to parenting. It helps to read a book which has an accepting, realistic attitude about parenting. So many parenting books make you feel inferior as a parent. This one is one of those which makes you feel like your style just might fit in somewhere." |
|
iParenting Media Awards' Reviewer "Through her own personal anecdotes, the author shows us the wonderful and wacky things that children come up with...things that may seem initially frustrating, but are ultimately things to celebrate, embrace, and appreciate. At the very least, it teaches us that if it's something we will look back upon and laugh about, we might as well do some laughing about it now." |
|
Jackie Drummer, President, WI Association for Talented and Gifted "Living with gifted children can be one of the most exciting, and one of the most difficult challenges set before parents. In her book, Life in the Fast Brain, Karen Isaacson shares the touching, humorous, awesome, awful, poignant, and thought-provoking incidents that are common to families that contain gifted children and adults. Ms. Isaacson relates tales from extended family and friends, as well as descriptive stories from her own family that make the reader say, 'Oh, that reminds me of...or oh, I know only too well what that feels like.' "Perhaps the most powerful information in this book, however, is the wisdom tucked away at the ends of her chapters. After sharing stories and examples, Ms. Isaacson crystallizes the essence of gifted children and adults into statements that ring true. "When read as a book that is both engagingly funny, and deadly serious in its overall message, Life in the Fast Brain stands out as a winner. I highly recommend it for parents of gifted children, and for 'former gifted children,' now grown!" |
|
Jann H. Leppien, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Great Falls, Co-Director of Edufest, Summer Institute for Enrichment, Teaching, and Learning "Isaacson has a keen eye for our common experiences with gifted children and a real knack for throwing it into touching relief and hopefulness. We can all relate and laugh because we see ourselves and relate both to the descriptions and the challenges that come with raisin' and livin' with smart brains." |
|
Laura Mahon, Mensa Research Journal "Paint all over the bathroom! Microwave-dried goldfish! Shamrock-green milk for St. Patrick's Day! All are the results of Karen Isaacson's 'fast-brained' children hard at work and play. What is a 'fast-brained' child, you ask? According to the author, it is a child that embodies intellectual intensity, unconventional problem-solving techniques, passion, curiosity, idealism, and difference. A 'fast-brained' child isn't all-knowing and isn't necessarily beyond doing stupid things. It is the way the child processes the world (at lightning speed) that confers the title... "I find this book to be much too exclusive, and thereby, ironically, applicable to any family...In this informal sharing of ideas and advice, Karen Isaacson ponders about her five 'fast-brained' children. 'How do I handle their differences?' she probes. Indeed, all parents should be asking this question, whether they are contemplating differences among the children within their family, or just ruminating about the uniqueness of any one of their children. The individual stories are different. But, the challenges and the coping strategies are universally the same." |
|
Lorel Shea, BellaOnline's Gifted Education Editor "Life in the Fast Brain: Keeping Up with Gifted Minds is the second Karen Isaacson book about life in a gifted family. Her first book, Raisin' Brains, introduced us to her highly intelligent brood. The author's dry, signature style continues to amuse and entertain readers in the sequel. She refers to all friends and family members with quirky monikers such as Rupert, Magnolia, Petunia, and Gabby. A handy family tree at the beginning of the book helps us to keep track of all the quirky characters. "Isaacson writes, 'Intense people don't just enjoy things, they become enamored. They take their relationships with ideas, with objects, or with hobbies to the next level.' She illustrates this well with stories about things such as her teenage son's passion for duct tape clothing and jewelry. Worn shoes were sealed with duct tape and eventually metamorphosed into duct tape boots. Another child, at eight years old, had a scheme for making money. He got creative and made sock puppets and took the door to door to sell. Of course this doesn't sound so unusual, until you read that he swiped virtually every sock in the house, and left his entire family with cold toes! "Life in the Fast Brain also includes the story of young Eugene, who helped his preschool director out by catching up the office filing, and six year old Imogene, who was concerned about the dangers of hydrogenated oils in fast food. I particularly liked the tale of the boy who designed a Rube Goldberg type machine to wake himself in the morning- it was supposed to drop a marble on his head! There's something sure to make you smile, wince in sympathy, or nod in agreement on virtually every page. "Gifted kids can be very challenging to raise, and Karen Isaacson encourages us to stop taking everything too seriously. Laughter is great medicine, and her humor is a great way to ease the burden of coping with gifted kids who make nearly every experience extraordinary." |
|
Paula J. Hillmann, Ph.D., Educational Psychologist and Executive Director, Advanced Learning Resources, LTD, Milwaukee, Wisconsin "This is a must for anyone who parents or teaches or is a highly creative learner – Isaacson’s insights on the mysterious workings of the creative brain are wonderfully described. Her stories made me laugh, made me cry, and make me grateful that there is still a world of support and respect for creative people of all ages who must have opportunities to play! I agree that we need people like Rupert to create and save the 'reald.'" |
|
Robert V. Heckel, Ph.D., ABPP, Feedback, South Carolina Psychological Association
"Karen Isaacson’s previous works have provided an interesting combination of guidance for persons with gifted children and in a chronicle of her adventures in raising five gifted children and dealing with their dilemmas. In the present work, she provides a more complete personal picture of her journey with her 'fearsome five.' "In many ways, it is a personal journey and account that provides an insightful self-study though with fewer directions to resources (publications, references, manuals) for parents of gifted children. It is very rich in personal experiences. It should be a good read for distressed or anxious parents in need of words of support, empathy, and reassurance, rather than those seeking a listing of how to’s and of do’s and don’ts. Because of the warmth and readability of this work, it should allay many of the concerns of bewildered parents. Personally, I would recommend the other Isaacson’s work as companion pieces as they complete the picture for understanding the gifted by also citing sources and resources. This work also reassures that in a family of five gifted kids each having distinctive interests and personalities is normal and expected. This can be comforting and time well spent for parents of gifted kids." |
|
Sarah Wilson, San Jose Homeschooling Examiner "Life in the Fast Brain: Keeping Up with Gifted Minds, by Karen Isaacson, relates the many humorous incidents that happen to the Isaacson family with their five gifted children. Although Isaacson does not homeschool her family, her stories touch home with parents of gifted children, regardless of school-type. "The overriding theme of the book is to 'hang on for the ride.' Gifted children are wired differently, so their thought processes often lead to surprising places. (For excellent information on giftedness, go to www.giftedhomeschoolers.com.) "Isaacson puts her family's crazy antics and touching moments to good use in this book. Filled with anecdotes and personal thoughts, (this book) will bring levity and self-recognition to many parents who look at their children (and possibly themselves) and think, 'Is anyone else even remotely like us?' Based on Isaacson's accounts, the answer is a resounding, 'Yes!' "Life in the Fast Brain does not offer any groundbreaking insights or new information to the gifted world. In fact, many of the stories do not seem solely limited to the gifted realm. Yet, perhaps that is one of the strengths of the book, that while some parts many seem unreal to most families, other parts are universal. "Plenty of books discuss identifying giftedness, coping with the emotional needs of gifted individuals, and educating this small group, but few simply celebrate the joyous trials and tribulations of living with people whose minds run at top speed all the time. Life in the Fast Brain offers a welcome laugh into the sometimes crazy world that is 'gifted.'" |
|
Trish Trimble, Mother of three gifted girls, Gifted Association of Missouri "Karen Isaacson provides many useful tips and encourages us that there are other ways besides the conventional ones to communicate with the gifted individual. "I could not help but insert the names of my family members in place of her own while enjoying the many humorous stories this mother of five has to offer...Karen points out that gifted children do have goals in their lives, they just aren't necessarily the same ones we have for them. We as parents have to let them decide for themselves what is important. "I read this book anticipating hours of laughter. I was not disappointed. What I did not expect was the insight into the gifted brains I live with." |
|
Wendy Skinner, Author of Infinity & Zebra Stripes "She's done it again--but even better! Karen Isaacson has topped Raisin' Brains: Surviving My Smart Family, with her sequel, Life in the Fast Brain, always looking on the bright side. You can't help but laugh (and sometimes cry) with her illustrative anecdotes... and feel welcomed into the greater community of fast-brained folks!" |