2011: Book 9

Delivering Doctor Amelia: The Story of a Gifted Young Obstetrician's Error and the Psychologist Who Helper Her by Dan Shapiro


272 pages


Completed 2/10/11


This memoir written in intermittent therapy sessions and narrator's stories was emotional and well-writtten. Young psychologist Shapiro and his young physician patient Amelia feel genuine feelings, and Shapiro does a wonderful job communicating these.

When obstetrician Amelia makes an avoidable error during a delivery, forever altering the family, and her own, life, she becomes despondent and cannot imagine ever returning to medicine. With Shapiro's insightful therapy techniques, besotted with his own feelings towards the patient, this is a great read for anyone interested in medicine, psychotherapy, or a touch of honesty.

LIZ: BOOK #43

The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher

336 pages

Completed 12/18/10

I was already a fan of Hornbacher in part to her wonderfully written memoir"Wasted," and this book only solidified me as a fan. Revolving around the Schiller family - mom Claire, dad Arnold, son Esau, and daughter Kate - and how things are after Arnold's suicide. Mental illness, alcoholism, grief, the pain of small-town-living, friendships, and love are just part of the intricate story Hornbacher weaves.

Told in the alternating perspectives of each surviving family member, written in very different styles, the twists and turns and raw emotion of this novel had an effect. Evocative, fragile, and intriguing, I put aside other tasks just to finish reading this one.

While the ending chapter, told in Kate's voice, left me a bit disappointed, the remainder of the novel and it's wonderful, heartbreaking story, more than made up for it.

LIZ: BOOK #10

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

208 pages

Completed 2/18/10

This book's writing style convinced me to pick it up; Toews wrote this book as if she were her father. An interesting concept, but one that failed to impress me. Her bipolar teacher father, who committed suicide later in life, left his family, and especially the author herself, with unanswered questions. A cathartic way of coming to terms with who her father was, I'm sure, but it never reeled me in enough to be moved by this book.

Coining this book as a memoir is deceiving, I think. Although told from the perspective of the main character, there's no way Toews could have truly entered her father's world and his lifelong struggle within it. I think that my own wariness for such an iffy way of presenting the story never allowed me to fully believe it. I can see, however, how this book could be a great resource for family members who have lost a loved one to mental illness - either living or dead.

An extremely talented writer, Toews did manage to churn out a very well-written book with "Swing Low". From early adulthood up until the day of what would end up being his last, Toews does cover her father's life in depth. I guess it just wasn't personal enough for me to enjoy it.