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5 comments about The Book of Jesse: A Story of Youth, Illness, and Medicine.

1. With a gentle but sure hand, Rowe guides us on a tour of a young man's talent and illness, and a father's profound hope and loss. The book is illustrated with pictures drawn by Jesse, which seem to range from a fascination with comic book heroes, to anguished representations of mortality--some of which are on par with works from the Vienna Secession. As such, Rowe sets upon a mission of collaboration with his late son, and introduces us to Jesse in the most intimate and graceful of fashions. At one point in the text, Rowe describes how he pretends to haggle over a painting of Jesse's with his other son, Daniel; although Rowe knows this is contest he must lose, he engages it to watch "the heat of [Daniel's] love draw Jesse from his shadows." This book represents a similar endeavor that meets its goals, and in so doing, effectively draws Jesse from the shadows of illness, medicine, and time, to our conscience.



2. Life on an intensive care unit is such as to induce family members to forget that there is, or has ever been, normal life elsewhere. It is the great merit of Michael Rowe's book to remind the reader that his son Jesse had always attempted to build such a normal life for himself, even as a child battling numerous illnesses. Jesse did this by creating many drawings, and Rowe includes both reproductions and verbal analyses of them in the book. The effect is to normalize Jesse for us, to re-humanize him, to lift him out of the patient role, as he lies teetering between life and death on the ICU. I took care of my father during his critical illness of five-and-a-half years, and I can attest that the book eloquently captures the minute-by-minute feel of intensive caregiving, of love at full emergency arousal.



3. I recommend this book from many perspectives: as a parent, a social worker and former health administrator, and as a relative of another young man who died from liver disease. I specifically recommend this book for the precise reasons that some readers will find themselves struggling with. The author exposes the unpretty side of medical care and in doing so, heightens our awareness of all too readily accepted medical practices and behavior. Rowe presents the uneasy complexities of two families grasping for precious moments with their shared loved one. And, a father's struggle to make sense out of devastation is sometimes hard to read. Self serving? Yes. Of course. It's a father's story about his son. However, the author need not apologize. In writing this book, he helps us know ourselves better; we can appreciate the sharp, difficult realities of illness better; we are challenged to see hope and beauty amidst the shards; and, we get to know - and learn from - a courageous young man, Jesse. This book should be required reading for medical students and professionals.



4. The Book of Jesse by Michael Rowe is the story of a family's love and suffering as they watch and try to help their loved one struggle to stay alive.
   It is a book in which the author has shared his thoughts and feelings with us. In doing so, he has put into words what many of us have experienced in one way or another.
   As a retired member of the madical profession, I highly recommend it be read by everyone in the medical field. It will enhance and renew their empathy.
   To the author I say "God Bless you and your family for all that you did for Jesse."
   - Gloria M. Coughlin



5. The Book of Jesse is about the life, illness and death of a young man. It is equally the story of his father's efforts to care for his son in the face of serious and ultimately fatal illness. It is about the family's struggles and, most of all, about the mysteries of creativity and of human development as long as life is breathed. In his introduction, Michael Rowe says that the writer donsý"the mantle of creative artist while dealing in the coin of true storyý; and let his readers decide whether he has written a good story, and a true story."

   In my view, this true story is also a good story. It is surprising that a reader should look forward to reading a book about the illness and death of a young man. Yet the book is intrinsically interesting and compelling, both in style and substance. The use of Jesse's drawings offers a symbolic focus that reminds us of the power and transcendence of art. The moving back and forth between events before and during Jesse's last illness and after his death, while confusing at times, also works because it helps to show the varying moods and tugs that his father and family encounter. The impact of modern technological medicine on patients, families, and medical staff is also well described.

   There are no easy answers here, and no manipulations either. The author's style is straightforward and honest. Despite the unanswered questions and the grieving that continues, this book leaves the reader with a sense of wholeness both about Jesse and his father's struggle to understand his son and himself.

1 comments about My Husband, My Child.

1. .....Eve Jensen has captured in loving details the path she shared with her husband. She has written in essay form events which show great insight into the gradual deterioration of a life, a love, a man.
   .....With the masterful skills of a former English teacher,
   Mrs. Jensen tells about how her husband was taken
   from doctor to doctor to find out the cause of his behaviors
   and physical problems. He was never labeled with Alzheimer's
   disease but had many of the same symptons.
   .....As these steps were being taken together, she captures
   daily events, personal activites, the loss of skills,
   the loss of friends for her true love-Hal. The trip was
   long but well documented.
   .....Hal and Eve were both teachers. Hal was a music,
   science, and CWE teacher. He was also a master of
   several languages, had lived in the Orient and Europe
   and was a fun loving Dane. At one time, they both were
   employed by the Dept. of Defense Overseas Schools,
   met, and married while living and teaching
   in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. After retirement,
   their lives were intermingled with many adventures
   but the biggest, longest, and hardest of these was
   the trip they shared with Hal's dementia.
   .....THIS BOOK SHOULD BE PURCHASED BY
   ALL WHO ARE DEALING WITH EVEN A HINT OF DEMENTIA
   WITH A LOVED ONE. Books should be purchased
   by Alzheimer's Associations across America
   to be given to other families dealing with their
   loved ones. A good idea would be to give gifts to

   the directors of local organizations to see what
   they think. I know that they will see the
   potential help for personal experiences which
   families are currently sharing.
   .....PASS THE WORD! Help someone else
   through Mrs. Jensen's capture of her and Hal's
   "... 14 Years into Dementia."
   SIGNED:
   A friend and former peer-- Cathryne N. Blocker

2 comments about On The Outside Looking In: One Mother's Journal of Her Family's Battle With a Mood Disorder.

1. In this book, the author holds nothing back. You feel as if you are there with her, enduring sleepless nights and anxious days. When she throws in a little humor, you want to laugh in frustration through the tears with her. For anyone who has suffered this disease, has a child, relative, or friend suffering, I highly recommend this book. You understand her frustration, you understand her fiance's side, and you want to understand the poor child enduring the mental illness. Unlike most other books on this subject, she's not afraid of admitting she is afraid. She also offers some valuable resources to people suffering from mental illness. The book offers no answers (as none can be found anywhere), but a shoulder to lean on by knowing you are not the only one who is caught up in a whirlwind of a life.



2. This book helped me understand my grand-daughter. The author opens up her life to the readers. She describes her mistakes, frustrations, good ideas and not so good ones. As you read you feel as though you are in the room with them. The words and descriptions are powerful and raw. Just when you don't think you can take another bad moment, the author offers up some humor. I loved the book, I couldn't put it down. It offers a different perspective from the usual medically based text. I highly recommend this book!

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