Dearly --poems by Margaret Atwood

 Publisher: Ecco (November 2,2021

Language: English

Paperback: 144 pages

ISBN: 978-63032507

5 Stars

 

 

I love Margaret Atwood’s poetry. Oh, maybe not every poem in a book, but I do not dislike any poems by her that I’ve read, and I have, and have read, all her poetry books. 

 

Ms Atwood’s poetry resonates with me, perhaps because we are of an age. I think, should we ever meet, we’d find we have our senses of humor in common.

 

The first poem is “Late Poems” and she had me with her opening lines, “These are the late poems. / Most poems are late / of course: too late,” This first section is about life, and what happens when that life ages, be it feline or blizzard.

 

“Health Class (1953)” had me laughing until I hurt. OMG, I could so relate to that poem. “Girls, girls, girls, girls, girls! / Simmer down! / This is not a three-ring circus!” Oh, but surely it was. What girl who suffered that class wasn’t positive she knew more than Teacher? There is an ode to “Frida Kahlo, San Miguel, Ash Wednesday” to be followed in a couple of pages by the 8 part poem, “Songs for Murdered Sisters.” 

 

There are pages of thought-provoking loveliness in this book, poems I read, stopped, read again, stopped again, and eventually turned the page. I have a love/hate relationship with the last poem, “Blackberries” for it conjured up memories of picking blackberries with my grandma who I miss terribly, and love so much. Good memories, of us picking the self-same fruits. And the lovely last lines, “Some berries occur in sun, / but they are smaller. / It’s as I always told you: / the best ones grow in shadow.”

 

Margaret Atwood is truly a national treasure in Canada. I find many delights in the fact Canada shares her with we in the south.

Death Interrupted: How Modern Medicine is Complicating the Way We Die --by Blair Bigham, MD

 Publisher: The Walrus Books (September 20, 2022)

Language: English

Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1487008543

5 Stars

 

This is a fascinating read. I had a hard time putting it down. I do most of my reading horizontal in my bed, and I’d read until my eyes burned. This is memoir of an MD who is taking on all the hard topics families, doctors, and patients face in the ER, ICU, office, and home. 

 

I remember when pronouncement of death meant your heart stopped. Then, with transfer of organs, it became when the brain died. Then with all the technology, who knows? We can be kept alive, hooked to wires, tubes, and intubation for an indefinite period of time. But do we want to live like that? If you haven’t left the proper paperwork, your family may insist. The Courts may insist you be kept alive even if you wish to be declared “dead dead.” It takes work to die on your terms, find out how, and set the plans for all to read and respect.

 

One of the things that, for me, made this book so fascinating, is Dr. Bigham admits when he is/was wrong, and what is doing to change. In other words, the doctor is admitting he is human v. so many doctors who consider themselves God.

 

If you are dying, have close friends and family who are dying, or may someday die, I heartedly recommend this book. One of the best of the genre of death and dying I’ve yet to read.

Before Your Memory Fades (Book 3 of Before the Coffee Gets Cold) --by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 Publisher: Hanover Square Press (November 15, 2022

Language: English

Hardcover: 320 pages (small book)

ISBN-13: 978-1335429285

Stars: 5+

 

This is the third in a series. The first thing I think all who have never read any of this series needs to know is that all books stand alone. If you read them out of order, it’s alright. There might be a couple references in passing you don’t get, but not to worry.

 

There is a second coffee house in Japan that offers time travel, with the same rules, it I the Donna Donna in Hakodate, a town on Hokkaido Island, north of Tokyo. Some of the people who work at the Finucli Finucla have come to the Donna Donna to cover for the owner who is out of the country.

 

Again, there are four independent stories that are expertly tied together at the end. These are great bedtime stories for the adult kids. Guaranteed not to give you nightmares ;-) As Mikey used to say when finished with his bowl of cereal, Try it. You’ll like it.