"At least I'm not on narcotics anymore" is a superior sign-off. :) Godspeed to you as you continue the healing journey! I've got The Betrothed but haven't started it yet. I'm curious but also coming off of A Tale of Two Cities and may need a small break from dense classics before I give it a go.
Hahaha! I honestly feel like narcotics didn't even do much. Take that to mean what you will!
The Betrothed is a bit different than Tale of Two Cities, I think just in style, I honestly think it should be listened to at least at first because it really helps you get the tone of story with a lot less effort.
I read the Betrothed a long time ago now, and remember feeling like it was a bit more meandering/ scattered(?) than I would have liked for a while until it all came together eventually.
It does seem very meandering! And dare I say because it is Italian? I think I get very used to streamlined English writing (a consequence of reading it non-stop my entire life) so different styles always cause a bit of whiplash. I wonder if Dorothy Sayers read The Betrothed and what she thought of it? She probably read it of course because of her Italian knowledge, I wonder if I can find it!
Ooh that’s a great thought. I’d love to know if Sayer’s had any reviews of it. My Italian is terrible, but I can say with certainty that it is not a language that values being concise!
I like the listening experience so far, I think it helps me get the rhythm and tone of the book faster than reading it myself when it comes to these really old, really translated, really huge books!
Sorry to hear about all the illness/ surgery! It’s the worst, especially if you have been waiting all winter to just finally be able to get out and about… I hope you have a swift recovery and look forward to more literary reviews/ rants next month :)
My husband kept trying to be encouraging and would tell me it's better to be laid up and recovering in February than in June! Which is very true, so I should be grateful for that and that this whole situation isn't ruining my precious summer time!
I have been laid up in summer before and it’s awful- just thinking about how much lovely weather you have to miss and how guilty you feel about missing it… February/ March is better in that regard, at least!
Glad you’re on the mend! I ended up stuck in the hospital for almost a month on bed rest towards the end of my most recent pregnancy, and really do not recommend.
It’s been a few years since I’ve read The Betrothed, but I remember it being rather fun.
We just had our (hopefully) last snowstorm of the season here in MN, and while I am not nearly half the gardener you are, my itch to do yard work is growing. Thank goodness the daffodils I planted last year should be popping up soon.
I can't imagine a month in hospital! That is truly tough stuff. I hope it's the last snowstorm in MN, we have already gotten more snow as of yesterday, and we really can't count on no snow through May...so I'm trying not to get ahead of myself!
I brokey leg back on August and had to have surgery. I feel your pain. I was in the ER for 26 hrs before I was wheeled into surgery. I completely agree about the kinds of people in the ER. It was very sad. I'm also reading The Betrothed! I definitely need close reads to help me with this one!
Ah! A broken leg! It just seems to be so dramatic having these things happen and then needing surgery when 24 hours before you were completely fine and just living your life. But probably an important lesson for us there too!
Ugh, sorry you've been dealing with these health issues! We've also been dealing with some not life threatening but very time consuming health issues with one of our kids, and it's just so frustrating for everyone involved - which, as you say, is everyone in the home (and some people beyond it), but it's a good reminder for all of us that having a family requires learning to sacrifice, and to give and receive (and ask for!) help.
HARD agree about wine. I don't get why people are so obsessed with restricting their enjoyment of a life that has no guarantees anyway. Do they think that avoiding alcohol will make them immortal? Of course, we all have to use discernment and prudence about all of these things, but it seems like people are gratuitously self-punitive with these things. It's kind of a new religion, a way to "fast" in a culture that tells us there's no need to deny ourselves. But our souls crave it! Without a framework, it just gets disordered and nonsensical.
Truly, our family has been blessed with good health, and our daughter's major back surgery last year was the first major health issue we had to deal with and I think it did give all the kids a better understanding of what serious health issues mean and what caring for someone means. I don't know if I forgot to say in this post or not, but having the surgery and recovery myself as compared to my kid is much preferred! So much less worry and stress! I would always take the pain of surgery rather than seeing one of my kids have to go through it, that's for sure. But I do think it is a really important life lesson to understand that everyone's health isn't guaranteed and that taking care of people is part of normal life. For some reason it feels like our world thinks it should never happen, similarly to the weirdness we're putting on living forever by never drinking alcohol. I don't want to live forever if I can't eat good food or drink good wine! I don't want to live forever full stop of course, but it seems we can't actually enjoy things, there has to be a utilitarian aspect to everything we consume.
- On the addiction on display in the hospital, one of my favorite physicians to read on here (emergency medicine is a weird niche full of random observations I like dig into sometimes!) wrote this on violence in hospitals. It has some overlap with what you're describing. They see a lot of crazy stuff. And I think it was him that mentioned another time how many folks he sees repeatedly coming in, clearly with addiction issues, to get treated in the ER... and perhaps partially because it is the only place they are attended to in any sort of personal way. (Sorry, this got kind intense and sad!) https://edwinleap.substack.com/p/danger-in-the-er-f55
- I, too, get jealous at how smart Mary is. I now hear people in unrelated spheres quote her work like she's one of modernity's best social philosophers to look up to or something, and she fully deserves it!
- Wine.. here's an author you may appreciate to counteract the haters. My husband bought me a copy of her book "The Spirituality of Wine" after we listened to her talk about it on a podcast a while back. Have yet to read but I already love her: https://www.thespiritualityofwine.com/
I think I've read some of his posts before! I used to work in healthcare and have some experience with it but always think I don't think I could work for years and years in those circumstances, but at the same time I'm proud of the time I did work there. I agree that ER's are places that they can actually get help, but at the same time I over heard so many conversations of nurses and doctors offering help and hearing the help being rejected because the people literally wanted to go outside and do drugs! I know there are no easy answers, but it does feel like a deeply tragic situation that is only growing.
And I've had The Spirituality of Wine on my tbr for a while now! I bet it's really interesting, I really need to bump it up the list!
"At least I'm not on narcotics anymore" is a superior sign-off. :) Godspeed to you as you continue the healing journey! I've got The Betrothed but haven't started it yet. I'm curious but also coming off of A Tale of Two Cities and may need a small break from dense classics before I give it a go.
Hahaha! I honestly feel like narcotics didn't even do much. Take that to mean what you will!
The Betrothed is a bit different than Tale of Two Cities, I think just in style, I honestly think it should be listened to at least at first because it really helps you get the tone of story with a lot less effort.
I read the Betrothed a long time ago now, and remember feeling like it was a bit more meandering/ scattered(?) than I would have liked for a while until it all came together eventually.
It does seem very meandering! And dare I say because it is Italian? I think I get very used to streamlined English writing (a consequence of reading it non-stop my entire life) so different styles always cause a bit of whiplash. I wonder if Dorothy Sayers read The Betrothed and what she thought of it? She probably read it of course because of her Italian knowledge, I wonder if I can find it!
Ooh that’s a great thought. I’d love to know if Sayer’s had any reviews of it. My Italian is terrible, but I can say with certainty that it is not a language that values being concise!
I listened through it a year ago (or maybe two... what is time??) and quite enjoyed it. But, like any hefty old novel, I'd really like to revisit it!
I like the listening experience so far, I think it helps me get the rhythm and tone of the book faster than reading it myself when it comes to these really old, really translated, really huge books!
Sorry to hear about all the illness/ surgery! It’s the worst, especially if you have been waiting all winter to just finally be able to get out and about… I hope you have a swift recovery and look forward to more literary reviews/ rants next month :)
My husband kept trying to be encouraging and would tell me it's better to be laid up and recovering in February than in June! Which is very true, so I should be grateful for that and that this whole situation isn't ruining my precious summer time!
I have been laid up in summer before and it’s awful- just thinking about how much lovely weather you have to miss and how guilty you feel about missing it… February/ March is better in that regard, at least!
Glad you’re on the mend! I ended up stuck in the hospital for almost a month on bed rest towards the end of my most recent pregnancy, and really do not recommend.
It’s been a few years since I’ve read The Betrothed, but I remember it being rather fun.
We just had our (hopefully) last snowstorm of the season here in MN, and while I am not nearly half the gardener you are, my itch to do yard work is growing. Thank goodness the daffodils I planted last year should be popping up soon.
I can't imagine a month in hospital! That is truly tough stuff. I hope it's the last snowstorm in MN, we have already gotten more snow as of yesterday, and we really can't count on no snow through May...so I'm trying not to get ahead of myself!
I brokey leg back on August and had to have surgery. I feel your pain. I was in the ER for 26 hrs before I was wheeled into surgery. I completely agree about the kinds of people in the ER. It was very sad. I'm also reading The Betrothed! I definitely need close reads to help me with this one!
* broke my leg
I wished Substack would let me edit a comment. 🤣
Ah! A broken leg! It just seems to be so dramatic having these things happen and then needing surgery when 24 hours before you were completely fine and just living your life. But probably an important lesson for us there too!
Ugh, sorry you've been dealing with these health issues! We've also been dealing with some not life threatening but very time consuming health issues with one of our kids, and it's just so frustrating for everyone involved - which, as you say, is everyone in the home (and some people beyond it), but it's a good reminder for all of us that having a family requires learning to sacrifice, and to give and receive (and ask for!) help.
HARD agree about wine. I don't get why people are so obsessed with restricting their enjoyment of a life that has no guarantees anyway. Do they think that avoiding alcohol will make them immortal? Of course, we all have to use discernment and prudence about all of these things, but it seems like people are gratuitously self-punitive with these things. It's kind of a new religion, a way to "fast" in a culture that tells us there's no need to deny ourselves. But our souls crave it! Without a framework, it just gets disordered and nonsensical.
Truly, our family has been blessed with good health, and our daughter's major back surgery last year was the first major health issue we had to deal with and I think it did give all the kids a better understanding of what serious health issues mean and what caring for someone means. I don't know if I forgot to say in this post or not, but having the surgery and recovery myself as compared to my kid is much preferred! So much less worry and stress! I would always take the pain of surgery rather than seeing one of my kids have to go through it, that's for sure. But I do think it is a really important life lesson to understand that everyone's health isn't guaranteed and that taking care of people is part of normal life. For some reason it feels like our world thinks it should never happen, similarly to the weirdness we're putting on living forever by never drinking alcohol. I don't want to live forever if I can't eat good food or drink good wine! I don't want to live forever full stop of course, but it seems we can't actually enjoy things, there has to be a utilitarian aspect to everything we consume.
- On the addiction on display in the hospital, one of my favorite physicians to read on here (emergency medicine is a weird niche full of random observations I like dig into sometimes!) wrote this on violence in hospitals. It has some overlap with what you're describing. They see a lot of crazy stuff. And I think it was him that mentioned another time how many folks he sees repeatedly coming in, clearly with addiction issues, to get treated in the ER... and perhaps partially because it is the only place they are attended to in any sort of personal way. (Sorry, this got kind intense and sad!) https://edwinleap.substack.com/p/danger-in-the-er-f55
- I, too, get jealous at how smart Mary is. I now hear people in unrelated spheres quote her work like she's one of modernity's best social philosophers to look up to or something, and she fully deserves it!
- Wine.. here's an author you may appreciate to counteract the haters. My husband bought me a copy of her book "The Spirituality of Wine" after we listened to her talk about it on a podcast a while back. Have yet to read but I already love her: https://www.thespiritualityofwine.com/
I think I've read some of his posts before! I used to work in healthcare and have some experience with it but always think I don't think I could work for years and years in those circumstances, but at the same time I'm proud of the time I did work there. I agree that ER's are places that they can actually get help, but at the same time I over heard so many conversations of nurses and doctors offering help and hearing the help being rejected because the people literally wanted to go outside and do drugs! I know there are no easy answers, but it does feel like a deeply tragic situation that is only growing.
And I've had The Spirituality of Wine on my tbr for a while now! I bet it's really interesting, I really need to bump it up the list!