Monday, October 10, 2011

About Alice, by Calvin Trillin


I love books that are written by real people telling their real stories.  This book was a short biography of sorts written by a grieving husband about his late wife, Alice.

He touches on the details of her personality, things he cherished about her... things, I'm sure, every wife wishes her husband would notice (and love) about her.  :)  He quite obviously loved every bit of her, from her outer beauty to her inner stubbornness.  She was a hopeless (or hopeful?) optimistic, a wonderful mother, a well-rounded, talented person with a desire and ability to touch the lives of others.  Alice was diagnosed with lung cancer in her early years, only to be given a 25 year grace period to see her daughters both married.  She had a sweet and realistic outlook on life and was able to always see the best in things.  She was never shy about expressing her opinion, no matter the number of feathers it might ruffle.  Her husband painted a nice little picture of her; a small glimpse, I'm sure.  I have to wonder if this was part of his grieving process... Either way, it was just nice to read about a small portion of this woman the world is now without.  She died from cardiac arrest, her heart being damaged by the radiation treatment she received.  But she died happy, seemingly satisfied with the life she'd lived.  I'm sure her family and friends feel equally blessed to have had her apart of theirs.

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