Gene Twaronite

I suspect I am too old to say that I enjoyed reading these stories. They were very well written and well developed, but, at my age, the content was a bit too scary and hit too close to home. Nevertheless, I commend the author, for, with these short stories, he managed to make a condition we all read about and perhaps even have experience with loving ones having it, real for us. I loved the first story, where both man and woman, once obviously together as a couple, are confused about just who each other are, because of cognition that is failing in both of them. In the second, a woman becomes obsessed that her long-term companion will include her in is suicide because he cannot face what is to come. Then, there is the story of the bedpan, the family pictures on the wall that are not recognized, final letter written to express one’s last wishes and ideas, and the trek off into the wilderness searching for what was once a real-life, doable adventure. Most of these are very real occurrences in everyone’s life and to which most can relate. However, now we view them in a totally different way, through the eyes of dementia. I think the author has given us a fantastic picture of what might/could happen as we age—and possibly one most would find better off not knowing. Still, the pictures and events in the stories are real, as are the emotions that go along with each of them. Today, as we all face an aging population, who may or may not eventually suffer from dementia, not to mention that we also may suffer from dementia, this book gives us, as I said, a great insight into what really happens with dementia. I recommend all people read this, even those, who, like me, are getting on in years and who may end up caring for loved ones who suffer from it, or may suffer from it themselves. The author has done this is such a way that the reader can enjoy learning the true nature of dementia. Right now, most of us, I think, really may not have a real handle on what dementia means and how it impacts lives, and this book will definitely give this to everyone who reads it. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.… (mais)

This short work is a collection of reprint stories first published in various literary magazines. Quiet, well-written, gently humorous in places, and for anyone who has watched a family member struggle with dementia, heartfelt. That said, the longer ones work best. I was particularly taken with "Beliefs of My Mother," in which a woman in assisted living tries to reason things out - with all the odd juxtapositions available to the demented - but only clearly remembers her mother's activities (particularly a civil rights march with her when Abigail was a child) and little else, not even her daughter. "A Letter of Intent" is thought-provoking, too, as an older man tries to write a suicide note, but people around him just laugh - he is no longer afforded even seriousness. Some very good material here. Recommended.… (mais)