Library

Prior to reading The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting by Steve Hendricks, we had an ongoing debate in our family as to whether or not fasting was good for you.  I bought this book to see if I could get to the bottom of it, and boy did I. Hendricks did extensive research and blends history, science, personal experiences, and storytelling in what turned out to be a mix of both memoir and non-fiction. In ways, it felt like I was taking a class, and this was my textbook. But wow, what a life-changing read.

These are the takeaways- built on the thesis that if we temporarily remove food from our diet (most of it, only tiny bits, carefully selected OR none at all, just drinking water), the body knows how to heal itself. Not for every disease or illness, but most. This also includes addiction or depression. And even jet-lag. Wow again. The next takeaway, medical doctors are reluctant to prescribe fasts, even though there is documented empirical evidence supporting the success of such fasts, because they feel as though they are not doing their job unless they are either 1) prescribing medicine or 2) performing surgery. And the next takeaway: pharmaceutical companies lobby hard to quiet the fasting industry because, well, it would affect their bottom line. This is not to say that fasting should replace modern medicine altogether- obviously, it has its place! But certainly, fasting should not be overlooked or considered first -as a therapy. The last takeaway to consider: if one is considering a fast, it is best to be under the care of a doctor; there should be a ramping-up period where certain foods are removed days prior to the fast, and even more important are the days following the fast and what to eat and how to ease solid food back into your diet.

Hendricks refers to two fasting clinics in his book.

In Germany and Mallorca (which sounds dreamy), Buchinger- Wilhemi, In Germany and Mallorca (which sounds dreamy.

Located in Santa Rosa California, True North:

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is an anthology curated and introduced by David Sedaris, a collection of his favorite works of short fiction. I enjoy his writing and, better still, hearing him read aloud, but I was curious to know what selections he would make. The introduction is written by Sedaris and is a short memoir of sorts. My favorite part of the introduction is where he writes that he developed the habit of reading in which he paid close attention to whether or not it caused him to see the world in a different way. That was his litmus test and interestingly built his confidence in defining his own sensibilities. I loved this. And I love how he exposed me to stories and authors that I would have likely not found on my own. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Where the Door is Always Open, and the Welcome Mat is Out by Patricia Highsmith, and Tobias Wolff’s Bullet to the Brain. People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk is a short story about a couple whose two-year-old child is diagnosed with cancer. It is beautifully written and heartbreaking. The experience of reading these stories was made even sweeter, knowing that the proceeds from this book fund 826NYC a nonprofit organization offering free writing workshops and after-school tutoring to students ages six to eighteen- with the goal of encouraging creative writing. This stole my heart

If you have any questions about death- that is, what happens to our body after we die- you can look to the book Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs. Written by the ever-talented mortician Caitlin Doughty. The best part is she chose questions to answer that were posed by children. Can I be buried in the same grave as my hamster? Will my hair keep growing in my coffin after I’m buried? Can someone donate blood after they die? The answers to these questions might seem to be slightly uncomfortable to read but for her wonderful sense of humor and delightful storytelling, it’s a heartwarming read. At the end of the book, she interviews her friend, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, addressing children’s psychological fears and anxieties surrounding death and how best to approach them. I appreciated this. She also had her read the draft of the book to ensure it was appropriate for children and/or one they could read on their own.