patlo's Reviews (1.32k)

A fun adventure through the US's National Parks, with a bit of history and a bit of memoir and relationship recovery on the side. Well written, funny, and audiobook is read by the author.

A mature, wise, profound memoir that deals with the realities of aging, faith and loss, terminal illness, and medically assisted death.

It's not often that I read a small, self-published memoir that leads me to weep, revisit family systems, and nod along with the complexity of an experience of faith that doesn't fit the normal buckets, but this one did.

I know the author, and knew some of this story, but not the depth of it. It was profoundly moving to read.

MY GOODNESS what a beautiful and creative way to tell a complex, classic story. Well worth reading this format, whether or not you read the Vonnegut text version.

By page 5 I had decided that I needed to return my library copy and buy both the audiobook and a print copy of this, and was recommending it to friends. The title may mislead you; it's really the anti-Productivity(tm) book; it's about limits and mortality and recognizing that you're actually human. Bonus points for reading this book while family members are going through potentially life-or-death medical issues. 

After I read this, I went back and put tabs on pages I'd highlighted or written notes on or wanted to remember, and the book now looks like a peacock in full bloom. There's good stuff everywhere in here.

If simplicity, difficulty-practicing-mindfulness, Zen and Jung are your bag, you'll extra-love this.