2020 - Fourth Quarterly Review

To assist my blog readers, I summarize my reading four times a year, providing a brief description, the page count, and a grading scale (5 thumbs up - Highly Recommend, 4 thumbs up - Enjoyed, 3 thumbs up - Good, but not as satisfying as I'd hoped, 2 thumbs up - Meh, and 1 thumb down - Regret, wishing I could get back the time invested). I read the following books during the fourth quarter of 2020 (for my full review, click on title):

For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People and Stories by Rick Steves - A famous travel writer's concise guide to his jaunts in Europe (only sad it neglected a mention of Barcelona). 416 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti - The winding story of a criminal's life as he attempts to protect those he loves. 400 pages (I listened in audio form, 11 CDs, 13-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍

The Temptation of Adam by Dave Connis - After Adam Hawthorne's expulsion from school, he must face down his porn addiction and make peace with the sacred and human embers blazing within us all. 337 pages, 👍👍👍👍

We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives... from the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana by Joe Garner - Real radio clips from interrupted broadcasts as news flashes erupted for tragic events. 154 pages (I listened in audio form, 2 CDs), 👍👍👍

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - Hemingway's memoir about life in Paris among many talented companions. 185 pages (I listened in audio form, 6 CDs, 4-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍-1/2

Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers by Helena dea Bala - A five-year project of listening to strangers unload secrets and burdens. 243 pages, 👍👍-1/2

The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan by Dr. David Perlmutter - As in Perlmutter's Grain Brain and Brain Maker books, this protocol urges avoidance of gluten and grains, as well as recommending many excellent lifestyle changes. 260 pages (I listened in audio form, 6 CDs, 7 hours), 👍👍👍

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - A bank robber flees a cashless bank into an apartment viewing turning it into a hostage scenario full of anxious people. An unbelievable romp. 336 pages, 👍👍👍

Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner - A member of British aristocracy recounts her life and her time serving as a lady in waiting for the queen's sister Margaret. 80% her life; 20% Princess Margaret. 336 pages (I listened in audio form, 8 CDs, 9 hours), 👍👍👍

Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life by W. David O. Taylor - Dissection of the benefits of the psalms for approaching all aspects of life with vulnerability and confidence. 194 pages, 👍👍👍

Open Heart by Elie Wiesel - The famous Jew who survived Auschwitz relates his experience facing emergency open heart surgery and contemplating his life. 96 pages (I listened in audio form, 2 CDs, 1-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen - Responding to Rembrandt's painting, Nouwen considers the parable and identifies with each character. 151 pages, 👍👍👍

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - Revealing crime and poverty in Victorian London through the tales of five unfortunates. 368 pages (I listened in audio form, 9 CDs, 10-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes - Light-hearted romance about second chances. 289 pages, 👍👍👍

They Do it With Mirrors: A Miss Marple Mystery by Agatha Christie - During a visit to a childhood friend, a man is murdered and Miss Marple must figure out exactly how the killer gained access to the victim. 224 pages (I listened in audio form, 5 CDs, 5-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍

Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper - Imprisoned by her cerebral palsy, eleven-year-old Melody longs to sing the words her brain contains, but even when she finds a machine to assist her, she must navigate the waters of being different. 320 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis - Emmie Blue hopes her pen-friend Lucas is going to express a romantic interest. After all, their lives came together serendipitously when he found the balloon she launched with the terrifying secret she carries. Will they move from friend territory to the next level? 310 pages, 👍👍👍

The End of Alzheimer's Program: The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at any Age by Dale E. Bredesen, MD - An outline of the protocol Bredesen uses to aid individuals in staving off and reversing Alzheimer's. 321 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson - An inspiring look at the process of creation and our role, as image-bearers of God, in presenting our gifts back to God for His glory. 224 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey - A compendium of work habits for famous writers, artists, composers, scientists, etc. 234 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee - A thorough expose' of the problem and progress of treatment for the insidious disease of cancer. 608 pages (I listened in audio form, 16 CDs, 20-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍👍

The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin - Creative individuals must bravely practice their art without concern for return on the investment.  They must courageously ship their work into the hands of others for criticism and, hopefully, change. 272 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti - Annabelle, triggered by memories of a traumatic event, takes off on a cross-country run to process and heal from the intense tragedy. 355 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin - A Christian novel of two unconventional sisters who cross continents to establish God's providence and provision in life. Brace for hammered messages. 480 pages (I listened in audio form, 13 CDs, 15.25 hours), 👍👍👍

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce - An unlikely friendship blossoms when a spinster hires an assistant to travel with her to New Caledonia in search of a rare golden beetle. 334 pages, 👍👍👍👍👍

At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald - A young boy in Victorian London ventures to the back of The North Wind. 168 pages (I listened in audio form, 2 CDs, 2 hours), 👍👍👍

Book Review: At the Back of the North Wind

During my college years, I worked in a museum housing the collections of 7 Christian British writers, including George MacDonald. I have read little by this author, but know that he influenced both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Perhaps this title is one of his most famous, At the Back of the North Wind. All three museum-showcased writers held a rare talent for making the story preeminent while weaving in metaphysical truths.

This audio version was a radio theatre performance put on by Focus on the Family. I loved the fact that Juliet Stevenson narrated for The North Wind. She has such a lovely lilting voice. The story takes the reader back in time to Victorian London, where a sickly boy encounters The North Wind. While others believe he is daft in the head, he insists that he has ridden in a nest of The North Wind's hair and flown over London. You cannot help but come away with a sense of peace about the afterlife. It was a perfect read for the holidays. 

Book Review: Miss Benson's Beetle - Highly Recommend

 

Rachel Joyce has done it again! This novel was every bit as delightful as her best-selling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. As Joyce carries her characters into uncharted territory, they always change and grow. She weaves adventures that illustrate firm beliefs about the kind of world where we'd all like to live. Miss Benson's Beetle is an enduring tale that explores a woman's purpose and passion and the rare gift of friendship along the way. It is my must-read suggestion for this trying year.

Doughty Margery Benson is a caricature to her young students. Horrified by their cartoon drawing of her, Margery flees the school and sets out on a journey of a lifetime. She is, at last, doing what she's always wanted to do, tracking a golden beetle in New Caledonia. Her deceased father inspired her love of entomology and also left her with a significant hole in her heart. But she cannot embark on this quest alone, so she reluctantly hires a bumbling assistant, Enid Pretty, who talks too much and dresses too provocatively. While Margery is pressing toward something, Enid is running from something.

Getting to know Margery Benson and Enid Pretty is quite an experience! What a remarkable ride the reader gets as these two unusual women foster an unlikely friendship and face an uncertain future! I can't help but use frequent exclamation points. These memorable characters feel real, and their exploits will stay with me for a good while. This would make a fantastic book club selection. It will spark great discussions and reactions. 

As if my satisfaction of the novel wasn't enough, a section at the end of the book offers a hypothetical conversation between the author and her characters. Then, the author shares the photograph that inspired the tale. I'm always curious about the birthing process of a novel. I relished Joyce's comments about what life is teaching her and what lessons arise from her interaction with these two women who appeared first in her imagination and then in a museum photograph. Keep it up, Rachel Joyce! Your writing is more than "very good" - it's pure gold! I hope you will continue to pursue it with your protagonist's persistence.

Book Review: Where We Belong

 Although I enjoyed this wholesome audio experience, it demonstrated the position on agenda that Andrew Peterson shared in his Adorning the Dark book. As a Christian, I agree with the message this novel presents. Sadly, the author hammers instead of suggests. For example, two phrases occurred ad nauseam (and, yes, I grew nauseated with each additional mention): "God knows the end of our days; no need to fear" and "No trees grow to the sky." I heard the first truism almost twenty times. She even explained the second, in case the reader couldn't grasp the meaning. I don't enjoy criticizing (indeed genuinely like this author's books), but wish the message to creep in unawares through the strength of the story. I'm sure Lynn Austin meant to shore up Christians facing uncertainty. No doubt many of us need such shoring up these days. Her intentions are honorable, but her methods too forceful (a non-believer would toss the story given such overt proselytizing).

Where We Belong emphasizes God's constant care and provision through the unconventional lives of two wealthy sisters who adore travel and wish to fulfill their God-given purpose in life. Flora and Rebecca Hawes travel to the Middle East in search of documents to verify the validity of Scripture. Faced with Darwin's alternative theory of evolution, the sisters fight to reinforce the Bible's authority. Meanwhile, they also shepherd their two young servants. The story jumps back and forth in time to portray how each character encountered and came to revere God. One sister falls in love with an adamant non-believer and his conversion feels too quick and without substance. Again, the story held plenty of action, believable characters, and engaging plot development. Just preachy. I'm not giving up on this author, but bristled at the hammered agenda.

Book Review: A Heart in a Body in the World

I first encountered Deb Caletti while researching comparable titles for a YA novel I wrote. My novel highlighted a girl who battles panic attacks and social anxiety, so I picked up Caletti's book, The Nature of Jade. She captured the essence of a growing problem for young women and wove it with truths about life. Next, I found a copy of Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. I read it while on my European excursion. As soon as I learned of A Heart in a Body in the World, I added it to my ever-growing list. I've never been able to run, but loved Wendelin Van Draanen's book about a runner, The Running Dream. Far easier to read about runners than to join them on the road. 

This book, A Heart in a Body in the World, ended up being a YA version of Harold Fry's journey (a favorite of mine, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce). Both Harold and Annabelle set out with no intention and end up with a quest and a following. Both are running to something and from something. The benefit of Annabelle's trek is that it occurs on my own soil and crosses my own paths. It was thrilling to read the section of her run through Illinois, since I hold fond memories of many of the mentioned places. Apart from identifying with locations, I also identified with the emotions in this book. Trauma ripples into every aspect of life and often steals our ability to respond rationally to similar scenarios, robbing a person twice, first with the initial offence and then of opportunities for normalcy. Annabelle knows that not all boys are evil, but her experience with one casts a long shadow on all further experiences.

Interspersed in the magnificent storytelling (forgot there was an author - the mark of a truly talented author), Annabelle shares facts about hearts. Each list of tangible facts ends with a truth about hearts illustrated in the story. Amazingly, broken hearts mend. As Annabelle runs, she regains her footing and becomes a symbol for the healing a nation needs after tragedy. This is a powerful and timely tale, full of grace and truth.

Book Review: The Practice

My good friend, Mary Pudaite Keating, spoke highly of Seth Godin. Of course, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work promised yet another book to encourage my deflating writing spirits. I am much better at the practice of writing than that of shipping writing into the world. Still, this book offered encouragement and thought-provoking content. 

The book has an unusual structure. Instead of chapters, it contains over 200 small sets of sentences, paragraphs, and blurbs of ideas. For example, he explains about Askida Ekmek, a practice in Turkey where a bakery patron can pay for an extra loaf to hang on a hook on the wall for a needy person who might enter the shop. I loved this interesting concept to present the idea that creativity nurtures self and should also nurture others. 

Godin asks the provocative question: “If we failed, would it be worth the journey?” I guess I need to commit to the practice more fully and stop looking for the results, the reassurance that it is to some purpose. Focus on the journey. That is an arduous task. I probably fit more in his category: “Some people… need a recipe and want reassurance that the work they do will pay off. The practice requires you to seek out this experience of uncertainty.” Later, he says, “It’s selfish to hold back when there’s a chance you have something to offer.” I needed his gentle reminder, “Your work is never going to be good enough (for everyone). But it’s already good enough (for someone).” Godin ships his own creative work right into the minds and hearts of struggling artists filled with self-doubt. He has something to offer. We have something to offer.

Missing Avenues for My Alto

The holidays bring so many memories associated with my alto horn. When I was in high school, my dad and I (on our cornet and alto) would venture out bright and early into the tube station tunnels in Chicago. We would set up the kettle and play duets for the crushing crowd of commuters until I had to leave for school. Several years back, a friend of mine passed along this photo of my dad playing at a kettle (I'm fairly certain that is the edge of my horn next to him) - she found it on eBay while searching for old Salvation Army images, so it has a watermark from some historical images company. Still, it brings back those morning jam sessions like it was yesterday.

I also remember playing through the Salvation Army carol book with my brothers so frequently that we had all the numbers memorized. In my senior year, when my parents were moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, I had to wrap my alto in a coat of foam to keep it from freezing as I stood out at the Army kettles. One night, a film crew from the local news station came by and I heard about it the next day from other students who watched (from the warm comfort of their homes - ha).

Since my husband has a masters in trumpet performance from Indiana University, he got in on the game after we married. My friends, Kris and MaryAnn Wood, were the officers at the DeKalb Salvation Army corps for a while. They invited John and I to join forces for their kettle effort. I remember one year, Kris promised to play his trombone from the roof of the corps if they made their goal for that year. I don't believe we joined him on the roof, but he kept his promise.

When we moved to the Indianapolis area, I anticipated the thrill of playing with an Army band again. I assumed there would be a corps band as vibrant as when my teen and college friends were in Indianapolis. Alas, no band. Still, I would play when they invited and after I purchased an alto on Craigslist, I often played for Christmas kettles at the Divisional Headquarters near the Children's Museum. They have since moved buildings and I don't receive invitations any longer.

Last night, while cruising through Facebook, I came across this video from High Bridge Brass. Alto soloist Nathan Miller performs a melodious version of Mary Did You Know?

In my teen years, back when my brothers called me "metallic lips" for practicing so many hours a day, I might have attempted a solo like this. Now, ha - fat chance! Still, it warms my heart to hear an outstanding musician make an alto horn sing! 

Book Review: The Emperor of All Maladies

The Emperor of All Maladies won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize. Its author, Siddhartha Mukherjee, is a Rhodes scholar and a graduate of Stanford University, University of Oxford, and Harvard Medical School. By the end of this monumental work, I was waxing a bit blurry-eyed (or should I say eared, since I listened) at all the acronyms, medication names, etc. They blended together and my interest flagged. But overall, it was a worthwhile experience (even on audio). I appreciated Mukherjee’s book on The Gene, so I knew what I was getting into. 

This thorough look into cancer over the ages offers the complete story of every challenge and every advance. Many individual battles personalize the story and serve as examples. Although I have members of my family who have battled cancer (my father had kidney cancer, my brother testicular cancer, and my niece had leukemia), I listened to this book from a privileged perspective. I have not had to endure the terror and the trauma of such a diagnosis. I agree with Adam Hochschild who writes, “Mukherjee joins the first rank of those rare doctor-authors who can wield a pen as gracefully as a scalpel.”

Book Review: Daily Rituals

After Adorning the Dark reminded me that everyone is creative, I investigated how some of the most famous creative individuals get their work done. Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey grew out of a blog. Currey, fascinated by people’s rituals, started a blog about them. One day an agent emailed suggesting he could make a book from the blog and, viola, now we can hold his findings in our hands. 

This book was fascinating. Of course, it didn't surprise me that some creatives turn to smoking, drinking, and drugs to prompt their creative juices (everything from cigars and coffee to alcohol and amphetamines). But some statistics were staggering. The book said Balzac sometimes consumed 50 cups of coffee a day. How is that even possible? And Sarte, well, let’s just say that man had a major problem with drugs and alcohol. 

I knew Dickens often turned to walking for his inspiration. He wasn’t alone in this reliance on long walks to clear the head and set ideas aglow. Tchaikovsky took a two-hour walk every day. Darwin, Kierkegaard, Freud, and Hobbes were also walkers. When I used to work on fiction, I needed a half-hour preliminary walk to process the characters and plot.

However, it thoroughly surprised me how many artists claimed to be procrastinators. Or that some discarded what they considered wasted effort. The output of many of these individuals stunned me, as well. H. L. Mencken worked 12 to 14 hours daily and replied to every letter he received within the same day. Not only that, he claimed his only regret was that he “didn’t work even harder.” Sheesh! Both George Sand and Saul Bellow wrote 20 or more pages a day. Faulkner claimed to have written ten thousand words in one day. (As a former Nanowrimo participant, 10 thousand sounds like a staggering number – I think my highest in one day was something between 5 and 6 thousand.) An emphasis on writing every day seemed to spring from page after page. Discipline makes many an artist. 

I laughed as Richard Strauss compared his writing to milking a cow. Then, in the small biographical sketch for Milton, the image appeared again. This time it seemed especially compelling. Because of Milton’s blindness, he would work for a few hours memorizing lines in his head and then when his secretary returned he would say it was time for him to be milked. For a time after Trevor’s birth, I had to use a machine to express the liquid gold of breast milk. I imagine famous writers produce liquid gold just as valuable. 

My daily writing ritual never nets gold, yet I cling to the practice. Every morning, as soon as I have completed my devotions, BSF lesson, and prayers, I pull out the lined paper and write between 1 and 2 pages a day. I sit at a desk (never lying down as some of these writers work). When working on fiction, I follow the advice Hemingway offered of breaking off in mid-thought with a rough idea of where I’m headed, to pick it up again the next day. However, I haven’t plowed effort into fiction for quite a while. Maybe I have given it up entirely. I may not produce at the rate or quality of the individuals highlighted in Currey’s book, but my ritual helps to clear my mind and process everything raging inside. So, for me, I suppose it is gold.

Book Review: Adorning the Dark

I’m becoming a big fan of Andrew Peterson. It started with my introduction to that stirring song I wrote about back in March. I cannot guess how many times I’ve viewed the You Tube video of his performance at the Sing conference. Enough so I no longer weep every time I hear the song (my initial response). 

In June, while writing my book review for Leif Enger’s Virgil Wander, I chanced upon the Rabbit Room blog (a marvelous discovery and a community I would love to join at some point). I had no idea it was another creative venture that sprang from the heart and soul of Andrew Peterson. While working on a fresh writing project, I encountered a blurb from Adorning the Dark. A nearby mega-church (with an outstanding Christian library) requested information about new resources patrons might like to access. I gave some ideas and threw in the title of this book. They blessed my socks off! One day, I received a call saying my requested book was in and ready for curbside pickup. Not only did they order the book for my benefit, but they delivered it in a gorgeous bag proclaiming “I—heart—books!” 

Of course, now I’ve discovered I want to purchase the book for my own library. It was that good! Andrew Peterson provides a quasi-memoir, quasi-creativity spark plug. His first premise: creativity is part of our God-given, image-bearing identity. We are all creative. His second premise: our creativity flourishes when plugged into community. His third premise: as Christians, God calls us to “adorn the dark with the light of Christ.” What a high calling! What an encouraging book! 

In the introduction, Peterson claims, “What’s shaped me and my work more than any particular talent on my part has been living out a calling in the midst of a Christ-centered community.” The book made me hunger for a Christian writing community as I used to have when we lived in DeKalb, Illinois. Although I tried a local library writer’s group, I worry my focus is too religious for their liking. Enter the current dilemma: How does one find such a community and align with it amid a pandemic? I don’t have what it takes to continue plugging away without affirmation that I’m on the right road or without cheerleaders alongside to rally my spirits when the opponent feels fierce. ("The ability to overcome resistance, self-sabotage, and self-doubt is way more important than talent." - Steven Pressfield) 

Still, with such community absent, this book is an outstanding encouragement. I cling to two statements toward the beginning: “You have to believe that you’re precious to the King of Creation, and not just a waste of space…. We holy fools all bear God’s image.” And “All you really have is your willingness to fail, coupled with the mountain of evidence that the Maker has never left nor forsaken you.” He also articulated well my biggest beef with much Christian fiction, when agenda overshadows story. Peterson writes, “Agenda isn’t necessarily bad…. [It] is bad when it usurps the beauty…. Truth without beauty can be a weapon; beauty without truth can be spineless.” 

Again and again, I wanted to recommend Peterson’s book to my friend, Kyle White (from my DeKalb writer’s group), knowing he would appreciate the content and its poetic conveyance. It was clinched when I read the chapter on “Serving the Audience.” As the author compared a song to a spell, able to “inject beauty into some unsuspecting passerby and lead them to the truth,” I thought of Kyle’s profound poetry. Peterson talked of a songwriter friend, Andy Gullahorn, who can slip past the “watchful dragons” (a C. S. Lewis reference). That is exactly what Kyle has done in his poem about the circus museum. You begin with the panoramic delight and, before you know it, Kyle zooms in on the truth of how a circus museum is kind of like the church today, and why we’re wrong to make it a museum. 

Next, Peterson wrote: “The song is a tightrope, and the listener is inching along, enraptured by the hope and light raveling in the middle distance…. When that happens, the world falls away and you’re both a channel for and a recipient of grace.” What a magical description of Christian writing. If only I could be a channel for and recipient of grace in my writing. 

After closing the book, I struggled with two conflicting emotions. His reminder that God gifts each of us and intends us to cultivate and grow our gifts for use in His magnificent kingdom encouraged me. But self-doubt (the very thing Peterson warns the reader to bite back) reared his ugly head all the more. I slunk into depression because my words are merely adequate and amateur. Plus, there is a  monumental chasm between completing a project and finding a publisher. I do not have the large platform publishers require, proof the work is profitable. I’m sure my words are not as well-articulated as they could be. However, I'm convinced God gave me those words to soothe another soul. Thus, I’m right back to where I always seem to find myself. I must lay the work at His feet and pray He will use it as He wills. If He intends to reach others through my meager talents, it will be His act of turning on the spout and allowing the water to gush into the hands that need it most.

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If you're interested in exploring my friend Kyle's work, visit his art/book website. In addition to purchasing his newest book of poetry and essays, Freezing, Thawing: New & Revised Stories from the Midwest, you might want to purchase an art print (my favorite is one with a quote from Henry Van Dyke: "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent... if no birds sang there except those that sang best.") He is currently offering a sale of 15% off any art print, through December 6th, if you use the code 15off. His previous books are also available on Amazon. Great Christmas gift ideas!

Book Review: The End of Alzheimer's Program

I’m experiencing a renewed interest in battling the potential enemy of dementia. Hard to fight an enemy if you’re not sure it truly exists yet, but I can certainly take steps to fortify and protect my personal home, my body. Dr. Dale Bredesen’s End of Alzheimer’s book was on mylist of top reads last year. Reading the book mobilized me to begin the protocol. I followed a make-shift regimen, based on what I had read, from March or April of last year until Christmas. In January, I attempted to go back on the plan. Alas, my father broke his arm, and I went to Florida to provide care. It seemed too difficult to maintain while in someone else’s house. Then, with the initial lockdown, I lost sight of the goal. I gained back the lost pounds and resumed some memory issues.

Bredesen’s plan works. I will say that at the outset. When I follow the plan, I notice a marked change in my well-being. While it requires devotion, he never says you have to follow his protocol 100 percent. You can make your own attempt and do what works for you. So just what is this plan? He calls it a KetoFLEX 12/3 diet. But it is so much more than a diet. It is a lifestyle shift. The plan involves 12 hour fasting (16 hours recommended for those with the Alzheimer’s gene) and recommends finishing your evening meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. Although it is ketogenic, it provides room for flexibility. Bredesen encourages readers to identify what triggers and risk factors they face so they know what to emphasize. The disease stems from a myriad of factors (diet, toxins, dental habits, inflammation, infection, etc.). Thus, the battle plans vary.

Here are some of his suggestions I’d like to attack while going back on the lower carb/plant-based diet. I’ve already resumed the fasting periods. I am attempting to break my fast in the morning with a cup of black coffee containing a small spoonful of coconut oil. This is a real challenge. I hate black coffee (crave my Coffee Mate hazelnut creamer – groan) and hate coconut. Thankfully, the oil is tasteless, just leaves an oily shimmer on the coffee. I now take milk thistle. I’m trying to focus on things I like: spinach, broccoli, pistachios, eggs, strawberries and blueberries, beets (yep, I like ‘em), avocados, and Brussel sprouts.

Although I would love to take the cognitive tests, I am still loathe to enter a doctor’s office. Besides, I'm unsure how I would respond if I learned I carry the Alzheimer’s gene. It would be great to purchase a pulse oximeter and rule out sleep apnea (I’m certain my oxygen levels are declining during sleep). If I knew how to go about it, or even if it would be valuable, I would look into having our home tested for toxins. I believe that the mold in my parent’s home led to some of my mother’s dementia. Purchasing a HEPA filter is another goal.

Don’t feel overwhelmed. You can attack as much or as little as you like and track your improvements over the weeks and months. This book is easy to digest (although the original End of Alzheimer’s book was easier). The only thing I would have liked to have seen in this book would have been a meal plan guide (but there was a small version in the original book and I purchased that, so I could review it). All in all, I’m a big believer in Dr. Bredesen and this plan. I think he is onto something. Anyone experiencing cognitive decline would do well to give it a whirl. There’s nothing to lose (well, weight) and much to gain.