The Book Thief

I am reading an extraordinary book called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is about Nazi Germany in 1939 but told from the point of view of "Death" and an ordinary non-Nazi German family. Taken from the back cover: "Zusak doesn't sugarcoat anything, but he makes his ostensibly gloomy subject bearable the same way Kurt Vonnegut did in Slaughterhouse Five: with grim, darkly, consoling humor." And while the book deals with a difficult and emotional topic, it makes for enjoyable reading and renews your faith in life.


DISCLAIMER: DIFFICULT EMOTIONAL READING FOLLOWS!


The following quote is about Death's receiving the souls of the victims of the "camps." Devastating yet tender in a way that makes Death seem less painful. As I was reading this passage, I said to myself, "With all of our Alzheimer's Disease difficulties, Gregory and I have only a little to complain about and a lot for which to grateful.


"When their bodies had finished scouring for gaps in the door, their souls rose up. When their fingernails had scratched at the wood and in some cases were nailed into it by the sheer force of desperation, their spirits came toward me, into my arms, and we climbed out of those shower facilities, onto the roof and up, into eternity's certain breadth …. Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks. I listened to their last, gasping cries. Their vanishing words. I watched their love visions and freed them from their fear."


Doesn't it seem so at times when you care for someone with Alzheimer's that death can be freeing?

The Long and Winding Road

Written by Paul McCartney, originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be.  It became The Beatles' last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970


The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door.

The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here?
Let me know the way.

Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried,
Anyway you'll never know
The many ways I've tried.

And still they lead me back
To the long, winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door.

But still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago (ohhh)
Don't keep me waiting here (don't keep me waiting)
Lead me to your door. 

Dedicated to Gregory

As I lie in bed about to go to sleep at our favorite time, 11:11, with the rabbits, cow, horse, and Madonna looking down on us from the markings left on the concrete ceiling of our condo, tears remind me of the other night when I apologized for having been so impatient with him. He responded, "Michael, I do not expect you to change, just be here." This story is dedicated to Gregory, he is not a victim of Alzheimer's Disease, he is a hero. His calm demeanor continues to shine through the language loss, the confusion, the misunderstandings, my impatience. This story is dedicated to Gregory. I love him so and now for sure … More Than Ever!