The Depth of Ninety: Traits and trials old people

"His story seemed like a novel, and mine just a haiku." This doctor's tale of house calls is woven into the experience of watching his own parents decline. Disillusioned with medicine and the pressures of clinic-based healthcare, the physician instead recognizes his role in palliative care, and basks in the privilege of visiting the elderly without trying to fix the natural ailments of aging. We meet rich characters: a rifle maker who can no longer walk straight let alone shoot, a buoyant would-be mermaid with a frail heart, a senile matriarch torn by unsettled caregivers. The reader is present for each in-home interview: a crystal candy dish, the smell of leftovers emanating from the toaster oven, the texture of very-old skin. In contrast to the prison cell of clinic slots, home visits are more like a comfortable theater: we sit, pause, and enjoy the scenes from lives that are decades older than our own. "Will I ever be as mighty as my father? The lifelong question came to mind, again." The doctor reflects with humility and compares the greatness and depth of nonagenarians with his own perceived mediocrity.

Pages: 215, Paperback, Independently published