Recent Readings

I've recently read a couple of books that have been on my list and finally made it to the top of the stack.

The 36-Hour Day, Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins, is a guide to caring for someone with Alzheimer's Disease and other similar dementia. It gives a lot of very good information and seems to be very thorough. It was given to a friend by her by father and who's mother has dementia. You have to be pretty brave to read it as you're thinking about a loved one because it quickly explains how things progress with the illness. No matter how much you wish it wasn't going to happen, I think its better to have some idea of what the stages are and how it might affect you. There's no fairy tale happy ending but at least the book gives you suggestions and ideas for how to accept the illness and do the best you can.

The other book is called Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Robert M. Pirsig. Here's what wikipedia has to say. I also recently read Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck which has similarities it that the structure is based on a road trip and people, places and events trigger deeper thinking about life, philosophy, and one's place in the world. Much like the narrator's son in Zen, Charlie the standard poodle, in Travels, provided the innocent character in contrast to the main character who obviously struggles. I have to admit that I wanted to finish Zen before heading on a trip north so I skimmed that last third of the book and just read the parts detailing the road trip itself. Although I found the philosophical discussion interesting it did seem to become a little overwhelming to both me and the author. I'll give it some time and them pick it up again. I'm sure it'll be worth a second try.