welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Thursday, March 22, 2018

my last trip home

MY LAST TRIP HOME
sometimes when i start a book it can take weeks before i read it
i usually read it only at night before i go to bed
this summer it took me 3 months to finish my book

when i find one i like
i usually like drinking a fine wine
just sip it slowly to appreciate its quality

well this time
this book
well it was and is different

my wife she got a copy to review for the author
looking for any errors etc the editor missed
so
after she finished the book
i got to read it

well what do you think my wife she asked
the best word i can use to describe this book
is
its powerful

it grabbed me and wouldnt let me go for about
two weeks
i was thinking about it when i wasnt reading it
that
folks
is the mark of a good read

the author i have known since i was a child
in fact she claims to have taught me in sunday school
when i was preelementary
that part i dont remember

her novel
is a memoir novel
she changed the names of the characters
some she combined together
but
since i know most of the characters stories i know who
they are

some were neighbors
some were relatives
a few were former patients

as far a i can tell the story is an accurate description
of her life
as accurate as a memoir novel can be

now my father was a minister in this area back in the 1950s
my sibling married their spouse who grew up in this area
i lived within 2 mile range of most of the characters in this
novel from the 9th grade to two years out of high school
like her i eventually drifted to california

later after medical school i ended up near this community
fulfilling a three year national health corp commitment
i left for various reasons after the 3 years were up

many of my siblings live in this part of the state
i go there at least once a year for our annual summer
family reunion

my parents are buried at the church mentioned in the book
the name of the church wasnt changed for the book

like her
i dont necessarily agree with many of them
socially politically and spiritually
but
like her
this area is embedded deep deep in my soul
there is a love and respect for the place and the people who live
there
these folks are hardworking and would
give you the shirts off their backs if thats what you needed

this area is not as its portrayed in the book
now
times have changed
most of the families mentioned in the book
have done well for themselves
there is not a backwardness that is often portrayed
for that part of the country
many of them are much better off than those of you
who live elsewhere

so the author
let me read several chapters over the last few months
before the book was published
however
when read in its entirety
the book was well just more powerful

a relative of ours was allowed to read the book
i asked her last night about it
i cant put it down she said

i must say
even though its powerful
i did a lot of laughing at times
im sure i woke my wife she up more than once
but
i also did a lot of crying
a lot of soul searching
thinking a lot about my past
realizing
like the author
that its amazing
that like her
i have been able to get through it all to be
successful

i know that like her
one day
i will make that
last trip home

you probably will read this book quickly
since its hard to not think about it

now
i knew what the story was and how it would end
but
i still couldnt set it down
i couldnt wait to read it

this book will be available on amazon in may
here is the link to preorder the book

click on the above link to read some of the reviews

my wife she and i were discussing it
we both looked at each other
we both agreed
its sort of like the best seller
hillbilly elegy
sort of
he like the author also self promoted his book
all the way to a best seller

yep
its a powerful powerful disturbing book
a must read

the organicgreen doctor

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