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?
Wow! That's a really powerful passage. It sounds like a book I should read. I am not currently dealing with the disease but my great uncle died from it many years ago. The father of a friend also suffered its ravages. That man, fortunately in some ways, lost his life before everything was lost to him EXCEPT his breath. My best wishes go out to you! And I have to say that the image you've chosen for a backdrop is beautifully poignant.
ReplyDeleteThanks Darla. Your comments are important to me.
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