Remembering Joe~August 7, 2007 August 5, 2008

Joe Di Trolio

My brother passed away on August 7, 2007. It was unexpected, although he endured many complications after a second surgery to remove two tumours on his brain stem caused by Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome. This entire week is a tough one, since it is like a play-by-play of events that led up to his passing and the excruciating pain/shock during the funeral.

I have been fortunate up till now to never have experienced grief of this magnitude. My grandfather died 4 years ago tragically, and even though it was difficult, I wasn’t very close to him. He was 74..my brother was 31. I am dealing with the grief day by day, week by week. It is a definite roller coaster ride. The hardest part is watching my boys suffer with grief.

I came across a poem today that words my grief beautifully. It is so hard to describe the pain in words, so I am grateful to have found the words here.

~~Grief is Like a River~~

My grief is like a river,

I have to let it flow,

but I myself determine

just where the banks will go.

Some days the current takes me

in waves of hurt and pain,

but there are always quiet pools

where I can rest again.

I crash on rocks of anger;

my faith seems faint indeed,

but there are other swimmers

who know that what I need

Are loving hands to hold me

when the waters are too swift,

and someone kind to listen

when I just seem to drift.

Grief’s river is a process

of relinquishing the past.

By swimming in hope’s channels,

I’ll reach the shore at last.

~~ By Cinthia G. Kelley

Geisha, A Life ~ Mineko Iwasaki August 1, 2008

Just got home with a brand-new one, Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki. She was a geisha in the 60s/70s and she tells her story. Started in a few pages already and I already know that after this one, I will want to read Memoirs of a Geisha. This is a true life account of Mineko as a geiko…looks interesting! Anyone read this one and can share thoughts, would be appreciated! I will update my thoughts on this as I work through the book.

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So I am about halfway through now, and the hardest part is making it through the Japanese and trying to remember who’s who.  But it is interesting – Ms. Iwasaki’s aim through retelling her story is to dispel the ideas or rumours that geisha houses are “brothels” and that no prostitution occurs.  I started reading this book oblivious to these rumours so, there are no points to prove with me!  Enjoying it so far..

Powerful ending to Loving Frank – by Nancy Horan July 30, 2008

cheney_divorce

Hi!! This is my very first blog EVER…not even sure what blogging really is..oh well… I have just finished reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan and all I can say is, wow! I never saw that ending coming! There I was, lying in bed, kids tucked away and sound asleep, husband sleeping next to me and I was doing what I always do before bed, reading. I was approaching the end and both excited and sad to finish this great book. I really liked the main character, Mamah Borthwick, and I was intrigued with Frank Lloyd Wright – honestly never knew too much about him up until this book. The ending was horrific and very abrupt. At about 1 am last night, I read the gruesome slaying of not only Mamah, but her two children John, 12, and Martha, 9. It made me want to go into the kids’ room and hug them, curl up beside them. I read all the notes found in the book to see whether it was fact or not, and after a quick search on Wikipedia, I found out that yes, this really did happen and it happened on August 15, 1914, practically 2 weeks from now. That date will be remembered by me and I will think of Mamah, her children and those workmen who died in the blaze on that day.

The other thing I’d like to mention about the ending is the accurate way Nancy Horan describes the grief that Frank experienced. I have experienced such a grief, the kind that cannot be put into words, but Ms. Horan found those words through this strong character. I’d like to thank her for helping me put my grief into words..and describing the indescribable so accurately.

I loved this true story that was so well put together by this author. Taliesen is now a national historic site and is another place on my list of places I’d like to visit someday.

I have done some extra research and found a copy of the Chicago Tribune article detailing Edwin Cheney and Mamah Borthwick’s divorce proceedings. I will enclose it in this novel. 5 stars for Loving Frank!