My Father’s ALS: A Son’s Healing Journey
$17.95
“. . . a tale with many dimensions told with novelistic confidence” -Peter Booth Wiley, author and publisher
“. . . a must-read for anyone who is faced with the task of caring for and supporting a loved one with a tragic, progressive illness.” -Nathan M. Bass, MD, PhD
After months of puzzling symptoms, Kenneth Kann’s dad is diagnosed with a “dread disease,” amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS. His dad and mom try to grasp this life-shattering news. It triggers disturbing realizations that at thirty-five, a proud survivor of sixties radicalism and the counterculture, Kenneth is leading a marginal life as a freelance writer and part-time teacher in Berkeley California. He is still battling with his dad. He is not prepared for his dad to be sick. He cannot absorb what he reads about ALS and what may happen to his dad. He is stunned by his parents’ tears. He goes home to help his mom, his dad, and himself.
ASIN : B0D6HRW6PV
Publisher : Koehler Books
Publication date : August 19, 2024
Language : English
Print length : 256 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8888244067
Item Weight : 13.4 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.64 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #2,358,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,183 in Death #4,358 in Grief & Bereavement #20,385 in Family Relationship (Books)
Customer Reviews: 5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Lawrence G. Townsend –
When Growing Old and Growing Up Collide
A family finds itself thrust into a crucible of overwhelming force when the author’s father is diagnosed with ALS, just as he is about to retire and enjoy a well-earned life of leisure and golden years of reflection. The author, Kenneth Kann, doesn’t miss the terrible cruelty and injustice of it all, but not just for the obvious reasons, although the relentless onslaught of the disease is described eloquently, unsparingly, and with deep compassion.What makes Kann experience even greater injustice, if that’s possible, is the fact that his father, a perfect specimen of the Greatest Generation, married young and worked his tail off for decades to provide a life and opportunities for others, notably his eldest son, the author. Meanwhile, Kann is suddenly forced to come to terms with the life he was leading in California at the time (1979): He’s been a successful but somewhat perennial student, having also devoted a lot of his time to radical politics in Berkeley; he’s unmarried, has no home of his own, and his freelance teaching employment doesn’t pay much but, if anything positive can be said, he was 30 or more years ahead of what later became known as the unrooted “gig economy.”He’s forced to come to terms with falling short of his father’s never-dying expectations of him and, worse, the author’s own long-suppressed, and now nagging, expectations of himself. Not letting himself off easily, the author begins to see himself as having obtained a series of not just military – but adulthood – deferments that extended for years beyond abolishment of the draft. In other words, he needs to find a solution for the near impossible needs for his father’s care and at the same time a rehab of his own life and its infirmities, long neglected. Due to the nature of ALS, the passage of time is ruthlessly swift and unforgiving.With lucid prose, keen intelligence, brutal honesty, and always an eye on what really matters over the long term, Kann delivers a highly-engaging and first-rate narrative of growing old and growing up when they both happen at warp speed.
mgdonna –
Excellent read and brave writing
This is an intimate and universal account and accounting of living with and around a heart-wrenching terminal illness. The descriptions of the illness’s progression were harrowing, perfectly understated to heighten the overwhelming horrors. My favorite chapters were the one taking his dad back to work to say goodbye and the one where he actually dies. This is powerful writing and a powerful story.