Caring in Remembered Ways: The Fruit of Seeing Deeply

Reviewer: Millie Caparro, MSN, RN, AOCN
The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: April 3, 2002

Author: Maggie Steincrolm Davis
Publisher:Heartsong Book
ISBN: 0-9638813-3-7
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What a wonderful journey! Maggie Steincrohn Davis has opened her heart while writing this book. It contains loving memories of her parents, family, and friends throughout their living at the end of their lives. It seems as though many who write about joy, sorrow, and death do so as a result of their own pain.

It is amazing to read of the triumph of the soul, the deep awakening of the mind, and tenderness of the heart that is aroused during sorrowful times if we open our minds to the true meaning of living fully, enjoying each minute, and appreciating each person and each experience that living fully brings to us. This author walks us through her life experiences -- some wonderful, some sad, and some tragic. She describes the good times in vivid detail; she also describes the sadness-- her reactions to it and her coping mechanisms. She shares memories of family and friends and how these memories sustained her during the most difficult time of saying goodbye.

The pain and sadness that accompanies loss are bared distinctly as Ms. Davis shares the personal pain of separation, divorce, isolation, distancing from her children, and depression. She describes her use of religion (at times, an alien god) who aided her in times of desperation, Throughout all tragedy she has triumphed in her ability to heal and discover the wonder of sharing time, love, and companionship with so many who are in need. She has recognized the needs of others during times of illness and isolation and has established a service business to provide for those in need of care, comfort and companionship.

Caution is urged for those who are unprepared for the, at times raw, portrayal of one person's experience associated with the pain, and heartbreak of personal loss. This book is recommended to caregivers of family and friends for its poignant display of the triumph and heartache of living and sharing fully with those we care for and love.