12/30/2023
I used to be a voracious reader, but some of you know that since my stroke I have a really hard time reading.
Between my vision loss and Homonymous hemianopsia combined with double vision and focus and attention deficits, reading has become an almost Sisyphean task for me. Even texting (and typing this) wears me out.
Ironically, my eyes are fine. My vision loss is 100% neurological.
Now, reading so much as a couple of paragraphs makes me dizzy, nauseas, and zaps me of my energy. I almost always have to take a nap after reading. So, I typically listen to audiobooks now. But even with audiobooks, I lose focus. I have to listen while I’m on a long walk. There’s something about the act of walking that keeps me focused on the story. If I sit down and listen…I completely lose track of where I am and what’s going on.
But over the last couple of days, I sat my butt down and read Grief Glimmers Grace by my dear friend Betsy Murphy.
It’s the first book that I’ve actually sat down and read since my strokes. I knew it was going to be a struggle physically and neurologically to read it, but I devoured it. Filled with profound wisdom and heartbreaking insights, it is a raw, vulnerable, honest, brave, and ultimately hope filled exploration of grief.
It is also a testament to the importance of not only sharing your story but making yourself available to receiving other’s. Stories as well.
As her son Charlie says in the book “I will talk to anyone who will listen. I will listen to anyone who wants to talk.”
This book is a brave, generous, and vital reminder to share our stories while we can, to talk with each other and most importantly, to listen. The book ends with 52 writing prompts - one for each week of the new year. I know what I’ll be doing every week in 2024!
Thank you Betsy for sharing this story
