Thursday, January 29, 2009

I should have been a librarian

I've mentioned that I am a big reader. People who know me in real life know that that is true. I would almost rather read than do anything else (except shopping). Because of this a few people have asked me to talk about books I've read. I'm going to give it a try.

I used to only read fiction but lately my tastes have expanded and I've been reading a lot of non-fiction. Mostly memoirs but other topics as well. The 2 most interesting books I have read recently are both non-fiction. One was called Mother Warriors by Jenny McCarthy and the other book is To Love What Is (I can't remember the exact name of the author). (One day soon I hope to learn how to include links and other fancy stuff but bear with me-I can only learn so much at a time).


About Mother Warriors-first, a disclaimer. I don't usually read books written by celebs because they are usually bad. In fact, I didn't particularly like her writing either. However, her topic was interesting enough to hold my attention. The book is about autism, vaccines and biomedical interventions which interests me because of my profession and because I have kids. Her premise is pretty controversial-she believes vaccines cause autism. Plain and simple. She also believes autism can be cured (yep-you heard right) by doing all sorts of interventions (diet, hyperbaric oxygen, de-toxifying metals from the body-most of these I don't even know what they are). She profiles families that have had success with these treatments. I have a hard time agreeing with a lot of what she says. But there was one aspect that really hit home with me about the vaccinations. We put a lot of chemicals in our children's bodies-at ONE time. Obviously vaccines are necessary-I would never not vaccinate my child. But do I know enough about them? Have I done enough research to make an informed decision? The way vaccines are given now, we assume all children's bodies will react the same way. But that is simply not true. Every baby's immunity is different and we need to acknowledge that. Maybe there is a better way to keep our children safe from these horrible diseases. The other information that made since to me was changing diet to exclude gluten, dairy, carbs. I do think diet has a huge impact on the way we feel and how we act. I'm not sure it can cure autism-I haven't seen results like that in my professional life. All in all, it did make me think.

To Love What Is is a completely different type of book. It is a memoir about an older woman (60's?) whose husband fell 9 feet from a sleeping loft and suffered a traumatic brain injury. How amazing was it that he survived-he was 75 years old when this happened! Then to find out he needs constant caretaking-and I mean constant. He can not be left alone for a minute. He lost all inhibition and his speech doesn't always make sense. Many people told the author to put her husband in a nursing home, that she is a saint for taking care of him. She doesn't look at it that way. How could you turn your back on the person you love? Even if taking care of that person takes everything you have to give. I would like to think I would be a person like that, but who knows? Their story is sweet, tragic and everything in between.

So there it is-this post is getting too long so I'll stop now. I think you can tell I love to read!

5 comments:

Orah said...

That second one would have me balling right now... I love books too. There is one I read a few years ago, you might like (I have to get the exact title from my sis) but it is something like "His name was adam" or "All About Adam" It is about a family coming to terms with their son who has down syndrome. Anyway, keep reading - it is less shallow and more productive than how most ppl spend their time (including me sometimes).

Orah said...

"Expecting Adam" That is the title...

Rach said...

thanks for the suggestions....

do you read non-fiction still? I like made up silly and filly books

Anonymous said...

My problem with books is that I can't put them down until I've finished them. When I was single this was no big deal. Read book until done and sleep late the next day. Of course sleeping late wouldn't be possible now, so I just don't start books. I read an interview or article or something recently about Jenny McCarthy and her son, it sounded so hokus pokus to me. Does she write all the details of her method of "curing" her son?

Anonymous said...

To Love What Is is by Alix Kates Shulman - I started reading it but haven't had a chance to finish it, I have a bad habit of being in the middle of 4 or more books at a time..and I can totally identify with the title of this post, it's what I think all the time! I have the same issue you mentioned with reading 'celebrity books', I think that's why I haven't been able to pick up Jenny McCarthy's book...